A bail schedule is a list of bail amounts approved by the court. It provides standard bail amounts for specific criminal charges in California. It was created by Superior Court judges in all the counties and is used for crimes enumerated in the Penal Code, Health and Safety Code, and Vehicle Code. Such pre-set bail amounts enable police and jail authorities to release defendants upon booking without requiring them to appear in court. This is to ensure uniformity, effectiveness, equity, and the safety of the population, as well as the presumption of innocence.

Penal Code 1269b governs bail schedules, and county judges are required to review and update it on an annual basis. The schedule provides a starting point for the amount of bail; therefore, judges can increase, decrease, or even waive the bail depending on the circumstances. Cases such as In re Humphrey have emphasized the importance of assessing an individual's ability to pay and their potential risk. Read along to understand how the California bail schedules work.

Definition and Function of County Bail Schedules

A county bail schedule is the first financial commitment that you will most likely encounter upon being arrested in California. This is a directive schedule, not a guideline, and is issued by the Superior Court of every county.

It is mainly focused on the provision of the constitutional right to bail, which should be exercised as soon as possible, and a judge is not required to be present at every arrest or booking. Without bail schedules, courts would have to wait hours to release individuals due to a shortage of judicial availability and an administrative backlog.

The bail schedule enables jail staff to accept payment for bail or bonds 24/7. Once the booking and confirmation of charges have been completed, the clerk examines the schedule to determine the amount of bail required. This process will prevent unnecessary detention due to delayed procedures and provide a predictable pretrial release.

California lacks a statewide bail schedule. Instead, the 58 counties of the state create their schedules based on local priorities, crime patterns, and concerns of the population about their safety. Consequently, the same criminal charge may have vastly different bail amounts in other counties where the defendant is arrested. For example, a $20,000 bail in one county can be $50,000 in another. This is a county-level control, which implies that the location of the arrest and the type of charge significantly contribute to the first cost of pretrial release.

How Superior Court Judges Review and Update Bail Schedules Each Year

The judges of the Superior Court of every county have the prerogative of creating and updating the bail schedules. According to California Penal Code 1269b, judges are required to convene at least once a year to deliberate and revise the minimum bail for misdemeanor and felony offenders. During the process, the judges take into account such factors as:

  • The severity of the crime

  • The safety of the community

  • Changes in criminal patterns

  • Updates to state law

Bail schedules should align with the current legal environment. New crimes are added to the law, or penalties on the existing crimes are increased, and this is where the bail amount is adjusted.

The judges are supposed to fulfill several goals: to ensure that the defendants are present in the court, to secure the community, and not to impose too high bail. Unreasonably large bail amounts are prohibited in the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and also in Article I, Section 12 of the California Constitution.

Some counties involve the public, the District Attorney, and the Public Defender in the revision process. This will ensure that other opinions are considered before the changes are made. The annual review helps maintain fairness and consistency and modifies bail practices in accordance with evolving legal standards and local needs.

How Base Bail Amounts Are Calculated for Misdemeanors and Felonies

The initial process in computing the total bail to be paid to secure a pretrial release is to calculate the base bail amount as shown in the schedule. Bail schedules are commonly categorized into two broad groups, which are misdemeanors and felonies.

Bail for misdemeanors is generally simpler and less expensive. Many minor offenses, such as simple battery or public intoxication, have fixed bail amounts that apply uniformly to similar charges. These figures indicate a reduced risk to society and less severe penalties for misdemeanor convictions. Depending on the crime committed, misdemeanors can be bailed out for a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

Felony bail schedules are more complex and carry higher amounts. Felonies are classified based on the severity of the crime, with higher bail being charged for violent crimes, crimes involving children, or crimes that pose a greater danger to the community.

Every section of the Penal Code listed has a base bail amount, which will be the starting point. If a particular offense is not enumerated, a general catch-all amount of that type of felony category is applied.

Some crimes, like capital murder, can be labelled "no bail" on the list. Under such circumstances, one cannot be released solely based on the schedule, and it is only a judge who can decide whether to allow bail.

The Impact of Special Allegations and Enhancements on Bail

The most crucial point about the California bail schedule is the so-called enhancements or special allegations. These are other factors that, when charged by the prosecution, would considerably hike the base bail amount.

The bail schedule should be a modular system in which costs are added based on the specific characteristics of the crime. As an example, in the case of an assault with a deadly weapon, the minimum base bail may be fifty thousand dollars.

Nonetheless, if the crime also involves an upgrade to the personal use of a firearm, the sum of money may increase by fifty or one hundred thousand dollars on top of that minimum.

Typical enhancements include causing significant bodily harm, using a weapon, or engaging in a crime to the advantage of a criminal street gang. Improvements are also possible depending on the victim's status, for example, crimes against peace officers or older adults.

These enhancements are typically listed in a separate table at the back of the bail schedule. The jail clerk is expected to add all the relevant enhancements to the base amount when determining your bail.

This may result in a scenario where the add-ons actually surpass the preliminary base bail. This compounding effect is something you need to be prepared to deal with, as the final cost of bailing out can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in most cases, particularly when dealing with complex felony cases.

How the Highest Charge Rule and Bail Stacking Affect Total Bail

When you are arrested for multiple offenses resulting from the same incident, the procedure for calculating bail depends on the county's policy. The most widespread one is the highest charge rule.

In this policy, the jail clerk acknowledges all charges against you and posts bail in the amount necessary to cover the most serious offense. For example, when you are charged with both burglary and possession of a controlled substance, the clerk will examine the bail for each and charge you the higher of the two. This regulation also helps avoid situations where bail is astronomically high because a single incident leads to multiple technical law violations.

However, you should also understand the concept of stacking. In certain jurisdictions or for specific types of offences, the court may direct that the bail for each charge be cumulative. This is common when there are numerous victims or individual criminal acts carried out within a duration of time.

If you are accused of three counts of robbery of three different individuals, the schedule may require that you pay the bail on all three counts together. Such piling up of bail can render the overall financial need impassable.

The particular section of the bail schedule called General Instructions of your county will tell you which of these rules to apply in your case, as this policy differs greatly across counties such as San Diego and Los Angeles.

Key Differences Between Los Angeles and Orange County Bail Practices

A review of the bail schedules of surrounding counties will demonstrate how local judicial philosophy influences pretrial release. When comparing the Los Angeles County bail schedule with the Orange County schedule, you will find that there are some apparent differences in their valuation of particular offenses.

Los Angeles is now on a path to a more liberal zero-bail or pre-arraignment release policy on most non-violent misdemeanors and low-level felonies. This implies that in most crimes in Los Angeles, the schedule is in effect, with zero-dollar bail and immediate release on own recognizance after booking. This reform aims to reduce the number of individuals in jail and ensure that individuals are not incarcerated solely because they cannot afford to pay their fines.

The Orange County bail schedule, on the other hand, has continued to place greater financial demands on such crimes. The judges of Orange County are inclined to focus on the traditional approach to bail, according to which the economic request to return to court is the most crucial.

As an example, a felony involving drugs that would not have received any bail in Los Angeles would attract a bail of $20,000 in Orange County. Additionally, Orange County is more likely to utilize a broader scope of enhancements for prior convictions, particularly prior strikes, under the Three Strikes Law.

These regional variations are essential to understand because they determine how you should prepare your financial resources. You should not think that a charge that will lead to release without bail in one county will be treated in the same manner in another county.

How Judicial Discretion Changed After the In re Humphrey Decision

The bail schedule will indicate the amount of bail you should pay at the time of booking, but it will not be the ultimate determiner of the amount to be posted. The jail schedule is primarily an administrative step within the jail, but the judge has the final say in setting bail during your first court appearance, known as the arraignment.

The schedule does not limit a judge, and they may raise or lower the bail depending on the circumstances of the case. The judge will look at your criminal history, your risk of flight, and the chances that you would become a menace to society should you be released.

The case In re Humphrey (2021) in the California Supreme Court revolutionized this judicial discretion. The court ruled that it is unconstitutional to place a defendant on bail if they cannot afford it without first considering the defendant's ability to pay and determining that no more restrictive conditions can be imposed to ensure the safety of the people and the defendant's appearance before the court.

This means that a high sum of money is specified in a bail schedule, but it is not always the final amount that will be paid. If bail is set at $100,000 but you can demonstrate you cannot afford the bail, the court should consider your financial situation.

You may insist on a Humphrey hearing, at which your attorney may assert that the fixed bail, which you cannot afford, is an unreasonable detention order. As a result of this legal evolution, bail schedules are no longer a rule but a starting point, which cannot be changed.

The California statutes prohibited excessive bail, as outlined in the California Constitution's Bill of Rights and Article I, Section 12. This means that the amount of bail should be associated with justifiable government interests, such as ensuring the defendant appears in court and providing security to the community. You should not be punished and detained because you cannot afford bail.

The California Constitution also restricts the instances of denying bail in general. The exceptions are only capital crimes or certain violent felonies where it is clear that the release of the individual would result in severe injuries to other people. The right to bail is constitutional for nearly all other charges. The bail schedule exists to accommodate this right by offering an explicit and instantaneous channel of pretrial release.

Bail Reduction Hearing Strategies

When the amount of bail in the schedule is prohibitively high, the most apparent course of action is to request a bail reduction hearing. This typically occurs during the arraignment or shortly after. In this hearing, the defense can submit evidence to argue that a smaller bail or release on their own recognizance (O.R.) should be adopted.

Evidence of strong ties with the community is one of the most significant aspects. These include long-term residence, stable employment, family obligations, and other relations that indicate the defendant cannot flee.

The seriousness of the offense is also determined by the judges based on the facts of the case, rather than the charge itself. Although the bail schedule is based on statutory classifications, a judge can consider mitigating circumstances. For example, when a weapon that was supposedly dangerous was not so dangerous, or the injuries were not severe, the defense can claim that the bail set is excessive.

The other viable solution is to suggest alternatives to detention that are less restrictive. These include:

  • Electronic monitoring

  • Handing over a passport

  • Frequent check-in

  • Attending counseling

These are some of the conditions that can be used to handle the issue of public safety without necessarily high bail. These options will provide the court with legal grounds to lower the bail amount and still ensure community safety.

How Penal Code 1275.1 Affects Bail Release

In other instances, release can be held by a Penal Code Section 1275.1 hold, even if bail is affordable. This is to enable the court to prevent a release in case there is probable cause that the bail funds were earned through illegal activity.

Such detentions are typical of drug trafficking, fraud, embezzlement, or money laundering. In the event of a 1275.1 hold, the jail is not permitted to release the defendant, even when the entire bail or bond is posted.

To secure release, the defendant should attend a 1275.1 hearing. During this hearing, the defense has the burden of demonstrating that the bail money was obtained through lawful means. This typically requires documentation in the form of bank statements, tax filings, payrolls, or loan contracts.

The detention can take several days until the court is satisfied. This procedure highlights that the legal release is not only based on the fulfillment of the bail amount but also on the legitimacy of the funds used.

Find Reliable Bail Bonds Services Near Me

Understanding California bail schedules is crucial if you or a loved one has been arrested. They determine the initial amount for pretrial release. However, these schedules are complicated by regulations, county variations, and judicial discretion. Bail amounts can vary depending on enhancements, solvency, and judicial rulings, such as In re Humphrey. Since the financial consequences of your freedom are high, it is crucial to understand your rights and local procedures.

If you are finding it difficult to pay a high bail amount for someone you love, professional assistance can make the difference. At Justice Bail Bonds, our bail bondsmen provide reliable and knowledgeable service in Temecula to help secure a fast and affordable release. Our bail bondsmen are available 24/7 and provide professional, respectful assistance to every client. Contact us today at 714-541-1155 to speak to our bail bondsmen so that we can begin the release process immediately.