It’s Saturday night at midnight and you’re cruising on the highway going home from having a few drinks (well, a few would be an understatement) at the bar celebrating your friend’s impending nuptials. Unfortunately, you were driving too fast and were too drunk to see a woman crossing the pedestrian lane. Though accidentally, you hit the woman and she sustained a serious leg injury. An officer who responded to the scene arrested and charged you with Vehicular Assault involving driving under the influence or DUI.
As the State of Colorado is serious about implementing drunk driving laws, penalties can increase with consecutive convictions. And to make matters even worse, vehicular assault poses an even stricter liability crime.
Vehicular assault involving DUI is considered a class 4 felony. It is punishable by two to six years in prison, a fine ranging from $2,000 to $500,000, and three years in mandatory parole.
As this is a serious criminal traffic case and also a felony, the judge will probably set a higher bail amount for the defendant. Posting bail would ensure a temporary release to an accused individual after they have been arrested. This acts like a security interest that the defendant will later appear in their court proceeding. Though the bail will be refunded once the case hearing is over, paying the full bail amount upfront particularly if it is exorbitant could be a struggle for most people to afford.
The amount of bail may depend on several factors. However, for cases that involve causing serious bodily injury due to negligence and the influence of alcohol, the District Attorney will likely appeal for the maximum penalty. Don’t have enough money to pay for the bail? Check out bail bonds near me to avail of a bail bonds service.
Nevertheless, you may request from the judge a bail hearing in which you could appeal for a reduction in bail amount or eliminate it altogether. However, there is no guarantee that the judge will reduce the bail amount. Several factors influence the judge’s decision in lowering the amount. One would be the criminal record of the defendant.
Have you committed a similar vehicular assault in the past? Well, you can definitely kiss your appeal for lower bail goodbye. Whether you have committed this in another state, this will still appear in your criminal record and affect the decision of the judge in lowering the bail amount.
Also, another factor would be if you are a flight risk. This means that there’s a chance that you will not be appearing in court proceedings and decide to leave the state or country. As this will be a potential problem not only for the court but also for your loved ones, the judge will not lower the bail amount and would probably deny bail altogether.
So, the question is, can the judge lower the bail amount? Definitely yes. However, you need to consider those factors mentioned. If you can’t afford to pay for the full amount of the bail set by the judge, you can consider availing of a bail bonds service that could pay the bail on your behalf through a bond. Check out bail bonds near me for trusted bail bondsmen who are experts in ensuring you get out of jail fast without thinking too much about how to pay for the huge bail amount.
