Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: breaking the law when out on bail

If by "automatic" you mean without the involvement of a judge, then the answer is no. However, the prosecutor will almost certainly ask the judge to revoke the defendant's bail. After reviewing the evidence, the judge will most likely agree.

Revoking bail requires a court order, which means the judge has to be persuaded that revocation is appropriate. If she believes the defendant committed a crime she will most likely revoke his bail, but the fact that he was arrested shouldn't be enough by itself. That proves only that the arresting officer believed the defendant had committed a crime. The judge does not have to accept the officer's belief. Chances are, though, that when she sees the evidence on which the officer based his decision she will also conclude that the defendant probably did it and will revoke his bail.

Re: breaking the law when out on bail

Generally, evidence of committing a crime while on bail will lead the judge to revoke it. If the new crime is charged in a new case, the charges will most likely include sentence enhancement of two years in state prison for committing a crime while being free on bail.

Hope this helps,

Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.

310.273.1361

www.lentzlawfirm.com

Re: breaking the law when out on bail

It all depends on the facts, the county and the situation.

If the facts tend to support the charge bail maybe revoked especially if the Judge thinks the facts support the charge.

The DA will probably request bail be revoked and the defense will probably fight that request. However, you must remember that being charged with a crime does not mean a presumption of guilt. It is always a presumption of innocence (on paper it is, reality can be different) so just because someone has been charged with a new crime does not mean they are presumed guilty of the new crime, the previous crime or anything else. It just means the officer making the arrest believed the defendant committed the crime and the DA felt the evidence supported a guilty verdict so they brought the charges. It more conservative counties, the bail tends to be revoke more than in less conservative counties. However, the Judge could also simply raise the bail amount. Good luck