Factors in determining bail

Once a case is indicted, someone’s arrested, then the process for bail is generally going to be dependent on a few factors that the court’s going to look at. A big part of that is the nature of the charge, how egregious the charge seems to be, as well as whether or not that person has ties to the community or is considered a flight risk. In the state court system it’s often just the type of charge, and if it’s a significant drug case, the quantity involved; if it’s a significant white-collar case, the dollar amounts involved. In federal courts you can — you can be detained basically two ways, one of two ways, or both, if you’re considered to be a flight risk or if you are a danger to the community. Now, the danger to the community is — can be just as it sounds. If are you a dangerous person with a violent background or you’re in on a violent-type charge, then you’re probably going to be deemed to be a danger to the community in federal court. That danger to the community is also — has also been deemed to be in, say, a white-collar case, if you are someone who’s orchestrated a white-collar fraud scheme or if you have a record of doing this. Same thing regarding a drug case. If you have a record of continuing to be a dealer or involved heavily in this, you could be considered to be a danger to the community and, therefore, detained without bond pending the case.