This post covers what to expect when a loved one has been arrested and charged, what to do if a warrant has been issued for your arrest, and how bail is determined. It also explains why bond hearing timing matters and how an attorney can be involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
A loved one was just arrested and charged with a crime. What happens next?
If a loved one has been arrested and charged with a crime, then one of two things has happened; either they’ve been arrested and a warrant has not yet been written and issued. If that’s the case, then you want that process to occur as quickly as possible. If the warrant had been issued prior to the arrest, then the warrant has been served.
Your loved one cannot have a bond hearing and be released from custody until such time as the warrant is served. If the charge involves an alleged victim, in other words, if there was a theft or an assault allegation or something of that nature, then the court is required to notify the person who was the alleged victim so they have an opportunity to be heard at the bond hearing.
So it’s very important to try to get those pieces together so that a bond hearing occurs more quickly. Bond hearings are set twice a day in most jurisdictions. Here they’re set in the morning at 9:00 and generally in the afternoon at 4:00. So the idea is you want to get to the next available bond hearing. It’s a good idea to contact a lawyer.
If you call the firm’s office, the firm can act fairly quickly, and usually the firm can speed up that process. You want to avoid the person spending the night in jail in most instances, and so there are certainly steps you can take to try to speed that up even after the person has been arrested and taken into custody.
What should I do if a warrant is issued for my arrest?
If you find out a warrant has been issued for your arrest, then obviously you’re subject to be arrested. What that means is that the police will locate you, they’ll take you into custody, which means they’ll handcuff you, they’ll search you, and if you’re driving a vehicle, they’ll pull your car over, or after you’ve pulled the car over, they’ll tow it to an impound lot. They may give you an opportunity to call a family member, they may not.
They pretty much will seize your property and take you to jail. They may take you to the jail which you’re ultimately going to bond out of, or they may take you to a jail which is convenient. If they take you to another jail, then you may sit there until such time as a transportation van comes and picks you up.
For example, in Myrtle Beach that could cause you to stay in jail for several hours before you’re even transported to where you’re going to be formally booked.
If you find out that there’s a warrant for your arrest, the best possible practice is to contact an attorney, and contact them as soon as possible. Because then the firm can contact the police jurisdiction, and in many instances they will stop looking for you.
The firm will make arrangements to turn you in so that you can go to the first available bond hearing. The best case scenario, which is usually what happens, is that the firm turns somebody in at 7:00 in the morning and they’re out of jail by 11:00 AM. If you do not turn yourself in, you could end up being in jail for one to two, sometimes three days, until you’re released.
I’ve been arrested. How will bail be determined?
Bail is determined based upon two factors: flight risk and threat to the community. The judges look at a person’s ties to the community, in other words, do you live in the community, how long have you lived there? Does your family live there? Do you have family that works in the community, that owns property in the community? Are you employed? All of those things are involved in terms of the setting of bail, in terms of flight risk.
Danger to the community, the judge will look at the nature of the offense charged; were you charged with a property crime, are you charged with a violent felony where several people were injured. Also the judge will look at, in terms of the flight risk and also the danger to the community factor, your criminal history. If you have a criminal record, that will be available to the court and the court will consider that.
Most people are entitled to bail even on serious charges, and most people are granted bail. One of the factors which can be a great assistance to you is if you have the opportunity, and many times people don’t because things happen so quickly, but if you have the opportunity to have an attorney with you at your bond hearing, that can make a significant difference.
All people charged with the same offense are not granted the same bail. The bond amounts can be vastly different depending on how it’s presented to the court, and sometimes just having an attorney gives the court assurances that you’re going to obey the conditions of bail and that you’re not a flight risk because you’ve taken the charge seriously enough that you have an attorney at your bail hearing.
Most people do not; most people just don’t have that luxury because they don’t have time to. They’re incarcerated, and fortunately the bond hearing comes up quickly enough that many times they’re unable to get a lawyer there.
The firm covers bail hearings quite frequently. Sometimes people contact the firm even after hours. If they do that, the firm is usually able to contact them back and appear at their bond hearing, which in those instances is usually first thing the next morning.
Greg McCollum brings 30 years of experience and a background as a former prosecutor to the criminal defense of people facing arrests, warrants, and bond hearings in South Carolina. When a loved one is in custody or a warrant is pending, timing matters, and speaking with an attorney early can make a significant difference.
If you have questions about an arrest, an arrest warrant, or a bond hearing in South Carolina, call the Greg McCollum Complete Legal Defense Team at (843) 626-5480. Consultations are confidential.