When it comes to being incarcerated, accused, and charged with any crime, there are a lot of misconceptions. Some mistakes stem from these misconceptions sounding logical, while others are produced by the media. For the question of does your bond goes down when you stay in jail, the clear answer is “no.” But reducing your bail amount can be done in other ways.

Primarily, the amount of bond premium a bondsman might be willing to take can be reduced even without a judge. They are a for-profit business, and less profit is more than no profit if you can prove that you are not at all a flight risk.

Alternatively, a judge could agree to lower your bail amount if some circumstances might persuade the court that you will attend your trial even if you are not in jail or that there are extenuating circumstances.

But, as far as staying in jail by itself goes, that will not reduce your bail amount automatically.

How Is Bail Determined?

There are several steps in how judges determine exactly how large or small your bail might be. The discretion here is allowed to provide the judge leeway to apply the spirit of the law when the case is unorthodox. What is considered when determining bail is:

Bail Schedule
- Specific amount determined for common crimes by the court
Prior convictions and charges
- If the accused has done the same or similar thing in the past
Community connection
- If the accused is connected with the community and is likely to stay
Financial situation
- What is the defendant’s ability to pay the bond

Overall, the bail should be something that would be costly for the defendant to skip. The idea is to ensure the defendant will appear in court on the designated date.

But, for common crimes such as misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, it is also a good thing for the defendant to have the money to pay bail and not stay in jail for the entire time of the proceedings.

Severity of the Crime

There are some crimes, especially violent crimes, where the court simply doesn’t have the luxury to release the defendant on bail. Such offenses usually include repeat offenders and people who might target possible witnesses.

In such cases, even if the defendant is found innocent in the end, the preference of the court is not to set up bail of any kind.

For common crimes such as misdemeanors, the bail will be set up as a scheduled amount and reduced if the needs of the defendant are required so.

Prior Felonies and Charges

Obviously, repeat offenders will have a harder time even receiving a bail deal from the court. But, if the repeat offense is something common and non-violent, and the defendant has honored the court and bail amounts in the past, the same amount will usually be set.

It is not the goal of the court to punish the defendant in any way with the bail. Rather, it is to ensure as much as possible that the accused person will be available to the court on their designated court dates.

Flight Risk Determination

People who have family, friends, and place of employment in the community are unlikely to jump bail, which is called “failure to appear.” Such defendants may even be released on their own recognizance because they would suffer social penalties if they were to skip their court date.

On the other hand, defendants charged with serious crimes who have ample funds abroad and could leave the community without serious consequences would be determined a flight risk. The bail posted should not act as a “get out of jail free” card, and the court will usually not allow that.

Does Your Bail Bond Go Down When You Stay in Jail?

The answer is very simple: no!

The time you have already spent in jail does not correlate with the amount you should pay for bail. If you don’t wish to post bail at all, that is your right, but you will need to stay in jail for the entirety of the court proceeding.

For most people, this is an unpleasant option, especially if they believe that they will be released of all charges in the end.

But, there are options to reduce the bail amount if it’s above the level you are comfortable or able to pay.

Bail Appeal

Although it is possible to appeal the bail level deal with the court of appeals, this is not something regularly done and is seldom accepted.

What is more common is to directly appeal to the judge during your first court case and to request a bail reduction due to some circumstances that you have forgotten to mention prior. That can be family needs or other duties you might have.

Bail Bond Negotiation

The bail bond will usually request a payment of 10% of the full bail amount for them to cover the rest. This is also called the premium and unlike when you pay your cash bail, this amount is not returned when the proceeding is over.

But, if that premium is too much for you at the time, you can negotiate with the bondsman to reduce your charge or to take something as collateral.

Property Bonds

Property bonds are not common as they require a bit too much paperwork to be viable for common crimes. You will not accept a lean on a $10,000 vehicle if your bail amount is set for $500. Real estate is an even bigger issue and is only done in severe cases.

But, it is possible to set up a property bond with your bail bondsman if you don’t have the money to cover the bail amount right now.

In that case, you will still need to pay that premium before you get the lean removed, but you would be able to leave jail immediately.

Conclusion

It is a common misconception that the bail amount will go down if you stay in jail for a while. Playing a game of chicken with the court is not advisable, as the courts are blind to such ploys.

But there are ways to reduce your bail amount if you don’t have to pay it right now.

Not only can you appeal to the court and explain how the amount in question is unreachable for you, but you can also negotiate with the bail bondsmen to delay or reduce the premium you would need to pay for the bond.