12 Apr How Soon After the Arrest will Charges be Filed and the Defendant can Post Bail?
The U.S. Constitution says that a defendant has the right to a speedy trial. This does not mean the trial itself will be completed within a certain amount of days. It means that the time between the formal arrest and the decision of the formal charges must be a reasonable amount of time. For most states, this is a 72-hour window, but for California, it is 48 hours. So, the prosecutor has 2-3 days, depending on state law, after a defendant is arrested to deliver the charges that will be filed.
This also protects defendants from having to remain in custody and jail for a lengthy time before the trial begins. Once the charges are announced at an arraignment hearing, then the defendant can post bail to return home. Hypothetically, if the charges are not announced until one week after the arrest, then the defendant must remain in jail for that entire week. A defendant cannot post bail until after charges are announced at an arraignment hearing.
How long does it take to post bail?
Without a bail bond company, it really depends on the financial ability of the defendant to afford the entire payment. With a bail bond company like Berkeley Bail Bond Store, all that needs to be done beforehand is fill out the paperwork and get the needed signatures. The payments come in increments following the defendant’s release from jail.