How to Bail a Friend Out of Jail in Philadelphia - Defense and ...

So, you want to bail your friend out of jail in Philadelphia?

Here's what you need to know about bail.

For starters, it's important to know exactly what constitutes bail. Once a criminal suspect is arrested and booked, the authorities can set a dollar amount which is paid to the authorities to release the suspect from police custody.

The suspect is released on the condition that he (or she) plans to appear at all the scheduled hearings and court proceedings.

If the suspect doesn't appear at the proceedings and skips bail, then the amount won't be returned.

Here are some steps, if you find yourself in the predicament of having to bail out a friend in Philadelphia:

Find out how much the amount is. You can call the following numbers 24/7 to get information on the bail: (215) 685-8394, (215) 685-8395, (215) 685-8396, (215) 685-7957, or (215) 685-7958.

If you can't afford the bail amount, look for a bail bond agency, These companies will let you post a bond, which is a lesser amount than the bail. A bond is a written guarantee that the full bail amount will be paid if your friend skips out on any proceeding. You will have to pay a fee for the bail bond and possibly even put up collateral. Have a look at some Pennsylvania bail bond agencies.

Where to pay bail. Once you've obtained the bail bond or have the full bail amount (whichever you choose), you need to pay bail to get your friend out. For criminal cases, bail payments are made at the Criminal Justice Center at 1301 Filbert Street. You need to go to the basement level. You can pay by cash, cashier's check or treasury check. These checks need to be made out to Clerk of Quarter Sessions.

For bail in traffic cases, you need to take your payment to the Traffic Court at 800 Spring Garden Street. Here, you can pay by cash, money order, certified check or credit card.

Full information on where and how to make bail payments is on the city's website.

This post is part of FindLaw's Legal U series. We are working to help you learn what to do in your city to cope with legal problems, questions, or issues that come up in daily life. Do you have a topic suggestion? Send us a tweet @FindLawConsumer with the hashtag #LegalU and come on back to learn more from future posts in this series.

Related Resources:

Source: http://philadelphiacriminallawnews.com/2012/10/how-to-bail-a-friend-out-of-jail-in-philadelphia.html

Plaquemines Parish alabama football michigan football michigan football askew blue moon eddie murphy