512-834-2245 (BAIL)

24 Hour Jail Release • Financing Available

home.html
 

Why You Don’t Want a Personal Bond

A Personal Recognizance Bond, commonly referred to as a Personal Bond or PR Bond, is issued by Pretrial Services in Travis County. You will often see attorneys advertise for jail release to assist in releasing an inmate from jail.  While some attorneys are licensed to post surety bonds, the majority attempt to have a PR or Personal Bond approved by a judge for a fee. According to the Texas Occupations Code, an attorney is permitted by law to assist in getting an inmate a personal bond ONLY for a client that has retained that attorney. When you pay an attorney for a personal bond you are hiring that attorney to represent you on the case.


Choosing an attorney is one of the most important decisions you will make at this time. Why make an ill informed decision from behind bars, with no opportunity to interview who you think has the best ability to represent you?  By hiring an attorney for a PR Bond you are waiving your right to apply for a court appointed attorney. For those in financial distress, the reduced fee of a court appointed attorney can be crucial. An attorney will tell you the fee paid for the bond goes towards representation because they are required to by the State Bar of Texas. Since there are no set fees attorney fees, they can simply raise the price of their service to include the jail release.


Attorneys do not do work for free. The attorney is charging you for his time, as he is not legally permitted to charge you for a Bail Bond. The attorney can then request approval from a judge to release the inmate. There are NO guarantees that an attorney will be able to get you released on a PR Bond because it must be approved by a judge.  Since you are paying for their time, not for the service of receiving a Bail Bond, you may or may not receive a refund if the Judge is unwilling to approve a personal bond that has already been denied. If you pay a bondsman to process your release, you can expect to be out in 2 to 6 hours from the time the fee is paid and the contract is signed. If you make the mistake of hiring an attorney for a jail release, he must re-submit your request for a personal bond to be signed by a judge before it is able to be filed. You can pay your release fee and still see your loved one in jail two days later.


Additionally, you may be subject to conditions of the PR bond that may not be placed on a surety bond posted by a bondsman, conditions the judge feels necessary to approve the bond. These conditions can include mandatory classes such as alcohol awareness class for driving while intoxicated or anger management class for cases involving assaults. You are required to pay for each and every class assigned (for fulfillment of your release from jail, NOT for your actual court case) that the PR Bond requires whether you are found innocent or guilty. The cost of paying for each of the classes you are assigned can add up to hundreds of additional dollars and can actually make a PR or Personal Bond much more expensive than a surety bond. This does not include all of the extra time you will spend traveling to and attending these classes assigned as a condition of your jail release when released on a PR Bond.  ATX Bail Bonds does not assign classes or counseling as conditions of your bond. You simply need to go to court to prevent any further financial responsibility for your jail release.  


Another condition of the PR Bond is that you stay out of trouble while on bond and going to court. If you are arrested again or a warrant is issued for your arrest, Pretrial Services will file a motion to revoke the Personal Bond and issue a warrant for your arrest with a higher bond amount than the original bond set by the judge, whether you are innocent or guilty of the new charge. The money you originally paid for a jail release on that charge is now gone.  Again this will end up costing you more money than if you had hired a bondsman to get you out the first time. ATX Bail Bonds does not automatically motion off your bond just because you are charged or arrested again.  In fact, we will be glad to help you get back out of jail as quickly as possible.

• Don’t Hire Your Attorney From Behind Bars

• Don’t Pay Hidden Fees

• Don’t Take Expensive Classes

• Don’t Delay Your Release Time

• Don’t Waive Your Right To Apply For A Court Appointed Attorney

• Don’t Have Your Bond Revoked For A New Charge

The Bail Bond Process