BEST BOND REDUCTION ATTORNEY IN LOUISVILLE
BOND REDUCTION LAWYER IN KENTUCKY
If you get arrested in or around Louisville then you need to call and have our Best Bond Reduction Attorney in Louisville get your bond set fairly. Setting Bond and asking for Bond Reduction seems simple enough. You are really setting a bond based upon an amalgam of the different parties life experiences coupled with the confines of Kentucky Statute Section 431.525. The Bond Amount shall be 1.) Sufficient to insure compliance with pretrial directives or orders; 2) Not oppressive; 3) Commensurate with the charged offense; 4) Considerate of past criminal history and reasonably anticipated conduct; 5) considerate of the financial wherewithal of the defendant. Call the best bond reduction attorney in Louisville to help you.
As a local Louisville criminal defense attorney I know these elements and considerations run together and in some instances they just don't matter. At some point, they have to be aligning themselves with being arbitrary, but the Jefferson District and Circuit Court Judges still must articulate their reasoning. For example, a multi-millionaire charged with murder will post his 1 million dollar bond, and the poor indigent client won't be able to post $50,000. Either bond is commensurate with murder and the inability to make the bond does not make it oppressive. Another example would be two people coming in with a DUI Second. One is an executive with a reputable local company, like UPS, and the Judge sets his bond at $500 or $1000. A person from the less privileged area of Louisville, say the California Neighborhood or Portland, may have his bond set at $1000, $2000 or more because he was not as established as the former comparison, the executive, and received a bench warrant for failure to pay court costs 8 years ago on a traffic violation. They could easily find that having such a lucrative position would not persuade himself of flight, as in not attending court. However, the other gentleman, having 0 dollars would be a flight risk because he has nothing to lose? There are a lot of different reasons for bonds, bond amounts and a persons background that reaches out to people differently. Some facts and details brought up in bond reduction at Jefferson District Court arraignment court in Louisville push the envelope on being inanely irrelevant. I've had prosecutors point to bench warrants 8-10 years ago stating that the client does not like court. They opine the client doesn't like court and is a flight risk because of this bench warrant 10 years ago. It is this thinking that is prevalent in court systems throughout the U.S. Like the U.S., Louisville Criminal District Court Dockets are slammed with these cases it is normally enough for them to know that if they don't show back up their license is suspended.
As a Bond Reduction Attorney in Louisville and focusing on Criminal Defense in Kentucky, bond reduction motions can be difficult because of expectations. Bond Reduction and the explanation to clients regarding what they should expect is, very hard, and maybe the hardest part of representation. They see the rules and not all the facts, circumstances and prior hearings heard outside of their presence. Clients understand the general rules, but it is too hard for them to place them into context. So, Bond Reduction is often a part of the process leading to a letdown for your client. And, sometimes they are great! There are some things that raise your chance of Bond Reduction and studies have shown this.
Raising your chances for Bond Reduction:
A skilled and licensed criminal defense attorney in Louisville who is respected by the judges. Further, a lawyer who practices in Jefferson Circuit Felony Court or Jefferson District Misdemeanor Court and is respected by his peers. Most importantly, an honest criminal defense attorney who will tell the truth and knows when he can vouch for his clients, because at the end of the day, all an attorney has is his word.
Every sitting Jefferson County Judge, whether in Jefferson Misdemeanor District Court, Jefferson Felony Circuit Court, Western District of Kentucky or Southern District of Indiana can trust that when I ask for trial date or suppression date, it is meant to be. The Jefferson County District Misdemeanor Attorneys, Jefferson County Commonwealth Felony Attorneys and United States Attorneys prosecutor know I don't withdraw from cases and when I set a trial date, I mean it.
What I present is what judges, other criminal defense attorneys and my clients charged with some crime, marijuana charge, gun crime, or otherwise, can rely upon. This starts with my appearance and initial bond. Your percentage for bond reduction goes increasingly higher when they know you are retained for the case and they can count on you staying with your client. There is no worries about juggling attorneys down the road because an attorney entered his appearance only to plead not guilty and withdraw from the next pretrial. Again, this reliance on an attorney and his consistency cannot be understated. This is a big reason why I turn down clients all the time because I will not get on a case merely for the purpose of bond reduction (unless it is in custody arraignment on a new arrest).
Bond reduction and a right to have a bond in the state of Kentucky is absolute. This is one significant variance when moving from Kentucky Courts to Federal Court Systems, Western District of Kentucky. Many cases in Federal Jurisdiction, those that have a mandatory minimum of 10 years to serve, as charged, have a "presumption of detainer." The presumption of detainer on indictments carrying over 10 years creates, very easily, a situation where a client is not given a bond. The Federal Judge, writing an opinion regarding the Defendant, is making a finding that there is no bond that could insure the Defendant would return to Court. This conclusion then equates to there being "No Bond" and the Defendant is whisked to a Federal Hold somewhere in Kentucky or Southern District of Indiana where he awaits trial. Current Federal Holds for Kentucky Inmates federally indicted include, New Albany Jail, LaGrange Jail, Grayson County Detention Center, and the Marion County Jail, in Springfield.
Unlike Federal Court, Kentucky State Courts mandate a measurable, identifiable bond. Because this is necessary there are several Criminal Rules, 4.04, 4.12 and 4.14 along with several Kentucky Statutes that dictate this process. These give guidelines for setting a bond and go about the three main factors to take into consideration.
BOND REDUCTION LAWYER IN LOUISVILLE
BEST BOND REDUCTION ATTORNEY IN KENTUCKY
Pretrial Services and Pretrial Reports Prepared: Importance at Bond Hearing
Arrest powers lie in each member of the Louisville Metro Police Department, Buechel Police Department, Shively Police Department, Kentucky State Police, or the Jefferson County's Sheriff Department. Each one of these, and some not listed, will get you off the street and deliver you to jail. Let the best bond reduction attorney in Louisville help.
At jail, you are handed off to a corrections officer who is employed by the Jefferson County Metropolitan Jail. You should not mistake or assume they are the same when one officer is a Louisville Metro Officer and the other is an Officer with the Department of Corrections. After getting booked into jail, fingerprints obtained and items searched, you are then taken to Louisville Metro Corrections Pretrial Services Unit. You want to cooperate with these people because they are gathering information about you. They gather information about you such as where you live, work, went to school, status of marriage, etc. Very importantly, they gather information regarding your demeanor, state of intoxication and any other remarkable characteristic that you demonstrate in the instant.
After compiling and augmenting the file with criminal record checking and an NCIC background they create the report in final. The report is a day in the life of, defendant. It will have your work history, locations you have lived, marital status, number of children and criminal record. Or it won't, because if you don't offer anything they will not have it. They will have your criminal record and they will be looking for outstanding warrants or keeping track of the number of times you did not appear in court when required. A little bench warrant on a traffic ticket can occasionally be crushing to your "flight risk" status.
Ultimately, the report will classify as Low, Medium or High Risk. Our Louisville Criminal Defense Attorney picks this report apart right away and makes it clear to the judge what true ramifications really exist. The Uniform Schedule of Bail for Misdemeanors are local rules that could apply, but often they do not. Most judges set bonds differently on such decisions as some judges will always set their bonds high. Some judges are the opposite, but what is certain is that each judge has a predictability that is useful knowledge to use to help your client. Most Judges make their own bond, some their trademark, and and they will be known for that. When talking to a criminal defense lawyer you need to inquire to the particular judge's bent. Does he take people in at arraignment? For instance, Judge Morris use to always set his bench warrant at arraignment court at $72,500. If someone told you their bond you could guess the Jefferson Circuit Felony Court or the reason they have a bond.
Jefferson Circuit Court has thirteen circuits, or courtrooms. All circuits and their respective judges behave differently, consistently, and often inconsistently from their own rulings going forward.
Requesting the pretrial report for bond reduction or other purposes is often useful, to the judge and yourself. If bringing a client up for bond reduction is important then you certainly want the Pretrial Report present. You want the report unless it is really bad, then depending on what the lawyer decides, you many not present the report if the report can really hurt you. Either way, if anyone takes the time it is information that can be regenerated by the prosecutor and judge on the fly. Well, at least the criminal record could be recreated. The pretrial report's information could outweigh its detriment such as showing you were born in Louisville, went to school, worked and currently lived here.
You all will have to make the call unless it is first arraignment from jail. If it is the first arraignment, from jail, get the pretrial report from the County Clerk in the court room. Read through the whole report and know what you need to bolster and diffuse. If in jail, first arraignment, the pretrial report will be present and you cannot dodge it.
