FAQs

Bail is designed to help individuals who have been arrested get out of jail until their trial comes to a close. But, at the same time, the amount of bail that is posted is supposed to be a large enough deterrent to prevent the individual from fleeing and instead, force them to go to court.

Read more here.

Posting bail on behalf of a loved one is not something that most people are familiar with doing. If you have received a phone call that your loved one has been arrested, you may find yourself in unfamiliar territory, trying to figure out what is needed to help get your loved one out. The requirements vary based on the city and county that your loved one has been arrested in. Here is what you need in order to bail someone out of jail in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Read more here.

•  To prevent the defendant absconding;
•  To prevent the defendant committing further offenses whilst on bail;
•  To prevent the defendant interfering with witnesses; or
•  for the defendant’s own protection (or if he is a child or young person, for his own welfare or in  his own interests).

Learn more about the conditions of bail bonds in Las Vegas.

Here are several benefits to consider:

1. Defendants can go back to work, school, home, family, and continue with usual daily life.
2. Permits the unhampered preparation of a defense.
3. Serves to prevent the infliction of punishment prior to conviction.

See more benefits of bailing someone out in Las Vegas.

Co-signer, someone willing to sign for the defendant, is responsible for the following three things:

1. To make sure the defendant makes all appearances to court.
2. To make sure the defendant notifies Lightning Bail Bonds of changes to their address, phone or employment.
3. To make sure the premium is paid (if applicable).

Learn more about the responsibilities of a co-signer for bail bonds in Las Vegas.

Under current law, a defendant has an absolute right to bail if the custody time limits have expired and otherwise ordinarily a right to bail unless there is sufficient reason not to grant it. Any person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Therefore, a person charged with a crime, should not be denied freedom unless there is a good reason. The main reasons for refusing bail are that the defendant is accused of an imprisonable offense and there are substantial grounds for believing that the defendant would:

1. Abscond, or
2. Commit further offenses while still on bail, or
3. Interfere with witnesses.

The court should take into account:

1. The nature and seriousness of the offense or default (and the probable method of dealing with the defendant for it),
2. The character, antecedents, associations and community ties of the defendant,
3. The defendant’s bail record, and
4. The strength of the evidence.

The court may also refuse bail:

• For the defendant’s own protection;
• where the defendant is already serving a custodial sentence for another offense;
• where the court is satisfied that it has not been practicable to obtain sufficient information;
• where the defendant has already absconded in the present proceedings;
• where the defendant has been convicted but the court is awaiting a pre-sentence report, other report or inquiry and it would be impracticable to complete the inquiries or make the report without keeping the defendant in custody;
• where the defendant is charged with a non-imprisonable offense, has already been released on bail for the offense with which he is now accused, and has been arrested for absconding or breaching bail.

Where the accused has previous convictions for certain homicide or sexual offenses, the burden of proof is on the defendant to rebut a presumption against bail.

It is your responsibility to check with the district attorney’s office to see when you are on the court docket. It is very important that you show up in court. Contracts are signed indicating that you will not miss your court date. If you do miss your court date, penalty fees begin to accrue. You should take action immediately. Contact your bail bondsman and/or your attorney. This may prevent the need to post another bond.

Depending on the value of your bond, you may need to put up some collateral. We can work with you to determine something appropriate. Your collateral will be returned once the defendant shows up for his or her court date.

It literally takes us minutes to create the bond. And due to our close proximity to the sheriff’s office, we can deliver the bond to the jail almost immediately. However, we cannot predict how busy the jail will be and it may take some time for the jail to process the bond. We tell our clients that on an average, the discharge takes between 3-4 hours.