If a suspect is arrested and put into an Utah  jail, the defendant has to appear before a judge (usually within 48 hours after being booked).  When the defendant goes before the judge, the judge looks at the charges and decides whether or not to continue holding the suspect in jail.  Sometimes a judge will decide that a suspect is too dangerous to be released.  More often, the judge allows a defendant to be released.  This is the point that a bail amount is set.

Bail is a way for the courts to help ensure that a defendant appears in court. Money is given to the court to hold until the defendant shows up for their court dates.  After a case is over, the money is given back to the person who posted the bail. However, most Utah defendants use a bail bond agent to get out of jail. If a suspect is using a bail bondsman, then the defendant would 10% of the bond amount and then place some collateral with the bondsman. For example, on a $10,000 bail you would pay the bail bondsman $1,000, which the bondsman would keep, and then the bondsman would place a lien on your house or take the title to your car for the collateral.

Bail is determined by Utah’s Uniform Bail Schedule.  Reasons for a high bail amount include the seriousness of the crime, the defendant’s flight risk, or if the defendant doesn’t have an attorney that requested a bail reduction.  In the latter case, the judge may ask the prosecutor what they think the bail amount should be.  This is why it is important for defendant’s to hire an experienced Utah Criminal lawyer who can ensure that the bail amount is fair. The best Utah criminal lawyers have good working relationships with prosecutors and can often lower you bail, which lowers the amount you pay to a bail bondsman