You can be arrested in North Carolina if a judge or a
magistrate has issued an arrest warrant which directs the police to take you
into custody. If an arrest warrant has not been issued, you may be arrested if
a police officer has reasonable ground to believe you have committed or are
committing a crime. You may also be arrested if you have failed to appear for a
criminal court date when you were required to do so.
If you are arrested, you will be brought before a magistrate for an Initial Appearance and he or she will determine if probable cause exists for the charge that you are facing. If probable cause is found, you will be advised of a date you must appear in court and the court will set conditions for your release and consider whether or not to release you on bond, and the type of bond to be set. Bond is a monetary guarantee for the court that you will appear each and every time you are ordered to do so while your case is pending. In North Carolina there are several types of bond.
·
A secured
bond may be satisfied with cash, property, or by a bondsman.
·
A cash
bond requires that the full bond amount be surrendered to the court in
cash and it can be posted by anyone. (If you are arrested on charges of drug
trafficking, you must prove that your bond money is coming from non-drug
revenue sources before it will be accepted by the court.) The court will retain
this money until your criminal case is concluded at which time it will be
returned to you. The full bond amount will be forfeited to the court if you
fail to appear for your trial.
·
A property
bond is one that posts the value of real estate in order to obtain
pre-trial release from jail. You will not be permitted to put up your own
property and if a warranty deed or tax statement indicates that there is more
than one owner, each owner must sign an agreement declaring that the property
may be used to finance your bond.
·
A surety
bond is, in essence, a contract with a bondsman for the total amount
of your bond. A surety bond is usually written for a 15% premium of the full
bond amount and the premium will not be returned to you.
·
An unsecured
bond is a promise to appear in court when necessary and to comply with
any set conditions. If you should fail to appear in court or violate any of the
conditions of you release, you would be liable for a money judgment in the full
amount of the bond.
·
A written
promise (sometimes known as a release on your own recognizance) is a
signed promise to appear in court when scheduled and to comply with any set
conditions of release.
·
A custody
release is a court order declaring that a defendant may only be
released into the care and supervision of a named responsible person. The most
common use of this release involves the parent of a juvenile defendant.
Not all people charged with crimes are entitled to bond. If you are charged with murder, you will not have a bond. If you are arrested for domestic violence you will not have a bond set until you see a district court judge or have been in jail for 48-hours.
If you are released on bond, the most important thing to remember is that you must be in court on the scheduled date. You must appear even if you have not been able to hire an attorney, to explain your situation to the court.
Contact us for more information.
Sheffron Law Firm, P.A.
828-698-9889
Information obtained from the NC Magistrates
Association