What Occurs If You Cannot Post a Bond and While Your Criminal Case Is Pending?
Interviewer: Let’s say an individual gets out of jail. They’ve been in jail for maybe six months to a year because they could not meet the bond to be released. What’s next? How often do they have to go to court? What’s going to happen step by step from there?
While a Case Is Pending, the Defense Attorney and Prosecutor and Judge Try to Resolve Issues Prior to a Trial
Jack O’Donnell: You’ve been coming back to court once or twice a month and the lawyer and the prosecutor continue to discuss your case. At some point a judge may get involved in a pre-trial setting trying to resolve any of the issues. He or she may try to come up with a structured disposition that works for everybody including the victims.
You May Accept a Plea Bargain or Enter a Treatment Program
The defense lawyer goes over it with the client and if the client says, “Yes, I’ll accept that” then you’d appear in front of the Judge and plead guilty, or plead nolo contendere. You may apply for a treatment program if that’s the agreed upon method of resolving the case.
So, prior to trial, either a sentence is imposed or a program is granted. If the client has been incarcerated during this time, you try to get it resolved as quickly as possible. This is because ending a jail term is one of your objectives.
If it looks like someone’s going to have a sentence of multiple years, they’re going to be getting credit for the time they’re in while the attorney is in the negotiating process. In that situation, it is not as imperative to move for a fast resolution of the case.