Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

A guy I know was arrested on Feb. 8, 2013 for harassment (gross misdemeanor). When he went in front of the judge to plead and set bail it was set at $25,000 and a court date was set. A few days later bail was reduced to $10,000. He went to court this morning where he received his next court date and his bail was changed to No Bail. He has no criminal history. He is still in custody. My questions are why now does he have no bail and what will his next court appearance be for? McDonalds restaurant is who pressed charges if that makes a difference. Now if his next court appearance is for sentencing will he be given time served?


Asked on 2/19/13, 5:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Jeff Holmes Jeff Holmes - Attorney at Law

It is rare that any court would put in place a "no bail" hold on a defendant charged with misdemeanor Harassment, so it is hard to say specifically without knowing the facts of this particular case why the Judge made those decisions. Normally the Court will only put a high bail in place if the defendant is a risk to cause future harm to the community, or if he is a flight risk, or so combination of both. Without knowing more about the case, I also can't say with specificity what his next court date will be for. It could be a simple pretrial review hearing, a readiness hearing, or a trial date. What his sentence will be also depends on the specific facts of the case, and ultimately is within the sole discretion of the Judge. If he does not have an attorney, he should definitely attempt to retain one to assist him through this process.

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Answered on 2/19/13, 6:08 pm


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