Can a Bail Amount Change if New Charges Are Added?

In the overwhelming majority of cases, when a person is arrested in Golden, Lakewood, or Denver County they are taken to jail, booked, and provided with an opportunity to post bail. Bail, whether paid in cash or posted with the assistance of a bail bond agent, is intended to ensure the accused lives up to their responsibility to appear in court at a later date to face the charges against them. But what if those charges change? Will that affect the bail situation and if so, how? That’s what we’re going to look at here.

Conditions That May Affect the Bail Agreement

Before we get into the particulars of what happens if additional charges are brought against the accused after they are arrested and released on bail, let's look at a couple of other scenarios that can have an effect on the original bail agreement.

• Reoffending while out on bail: If a person is arrested, given a court date, and released on bail and then winds up re-offending while out on bail the judge will likely revoke bail and remand the accused to custody until their scheduled court date. In that case, any money the accused put up to secure their release would be forfeited. If they used a bonding company they would become responsible for the full dollar amount of the bond, payable to the bondsman.
• It is not common, but in some cases, the police will inadvertently apply the wrong bail amount from the bail schedule. In such cases, the court may simply accept the mistake and allow the accused to remain free at the lower bail amount. However, in the case of a serious offense, the DA's office may request that a higher amount be imposed. If the judge agrees the accused will need to arrange to make up the difference or be remanded to custody.

Now let’s look at how the bail arrangement might be affected if additional charges are levied against a defendant.

Bail and Additional Charges

Just because a person is arrested, charged, and released on bail it does not preclude the police and the courts from continuing to investigate the case in the time between the person's release and their court date. In some cases, a defendant may well arrive in court only to be informed that the state has decided to bring additional charges against them. In such instances, it is not uncommon for the District Attorney to ask the court to increase the bail amount to reflect the new charges. Should the court agree with the request the accused will be required to make up the difference between the amount they originally paid and the new bail amount.

The defense lawyer’s job is to try and prevent this from happening by making a compelling argument in the defendant’s favor. Sometimes this will work and the court will deny the petition to raise the bail amount, and sometimes the court will be unimpressed and go along with the DA’s request for higher bail.

What is the Process for Paying Additional Bail?

In most cases, the process for paying any additional bail tacked on by the court is pretty straightforward. Let's say the original bail amount was $10,000 and the accused paid a bond fee of 10%, or $1,000. If the court raises the bail amount to, say, $20,000 and the bail company agrees to post the difference the defendant will need to come up with an additional $1,000 to satisfy the court and continue to remain free on bail. If, however, the bondsman declines to cover the higher amount, or the defendant is not able to come up with the additional fee the original bond will be declared void, the defendant will likely get their original fee amount back and then be remanded to custody to await their day in court.

Affordable Bail Bonds in Denver County

If you find yourself in a position where additional charges are brought by the state during your court appearance and your bail is subsequently increased it behooves you to work with the bondsman to arrange to make up the difference. In most cases, they won't hesitate to do so, as long as you can hold up your end of the bargain in the form of a higher fee.

If you should find yourself in need of bail get in touch with Tayler Made Bail Bonding by calling (303) 623-0399. We offer 24-hour bail bonds that help ensure you don’t languish in jail no matter when you were arrested.