$100,000 DUI Bail. Bail Issues in California DUI Cases

What happens when you go out partying on Friday night, and are technically arrested at 2am on Saturday morning? You can potentially sit in jail clueless for 4-5 days. In California, once you are arrested the Superior Court in each County will apply a uniform bail schedule for all felony and misdemeanor offenses. Once you are arraigned, the judge you appear before on your first court date, has the power to consider the seriousness of the charges against you and decided if you should be released from custody by OR (own recognizance) or by bail a reduction. Keep in mind that traditionally those who have deeper pockets can bail out of jail within a matter of hours. Those who are without the funds, will sit in jail and await their first court appearance to be able to see a judge and have an attorney argue for their release or for their bail to be reduced so they can afford to bail out of jail.

The wait is 48 hours under the law to get in front of a judge. Interestingly courts are allowed to use the weekends in the favor. The 48 hours does not being to run unless it's a court/business day. That means Saturdays and Sundays don't count. So if you are arrested over the weekend and are facing a high bail amount, which could be $100,000 or more for serious DUI offense, you could be sitting in jail for approximately 4-5 days, before the court informs you of what’s going on.

The state and country are in legal debates at the moment as to deciding if bail is constitution since it disproportionally impacts the poor and lower middle class, while it favors the rich. The rich get out of jail at lightning speed, while the poor sit in jail, suffering job loss, and lack of child care for children who are probably at home wondering why their parent has not come home for the evening. It’s an equal protection under the law debate under the 14^th Amendment for sure.