DALE CARSON LAW

Depending on the nature of the arrest in Florida, and the nature of the charge, the great majority of individuals can typically get out of jail. The way that is done is by going in front of a judge and dealing with any sort of bond related issues. For many a more minor arrest in Florida, someone might actually be what’s called RORed, which is released on their own recognizance. This means they essentially just sign a piece of paper, promise to appear in court and the judge lets them out. For more serious types of offenses, a judge may actually set a monetary bond. These bond amounts can be any number that the judge deems appropriate and it’s based on a number of factors the judge will review. Once that bond is set, if the bond is either paid in full, which is called a cash bond. Or if ten percent of that is paid to a bail bondsman then that will result in the jail releasing the individual. Additionally, there are other conditions that a judge can put into place for purposes of release from a jail. In certain circumstances a judge may put on something like a GPS monitor, or what’s called a SCRAM monitor, which monitors for alcohol use. They could put in place a drug patch, too. They can also put in place other reporting requirements with, here in Duval County, what we call pretrial services and there are a number of different ways a judge can address that in order to ensure that a defendant can be out on bond but still will remain compliant with the law.