Jumping Bail

Jumping bail is not only never recommended but highly advised against. Even with the change to bail requirements and guidelines that New York has passed in the more recent years, jumping bail will only succeed in further complicating whatever criminal charges you are already facing. The court will not react kindly to a person who jumps bail and more often than not the severity of the courts discretion on sentencing will increase as well as limit what options are available in reducing charges. It is incredibly important that if you are in a situation where you have jumped bail, you contact an attorney to help navigate the court and still work towards a favorable outcome. Call now for a free consultation with one of our experienced New York criminal attorneys.

Bail jumping is chargeable in three degrees with the lowest form being a class A misdemeanor ranging to a class D felony. Less serious are the charges of failing to respond to an appearance ticket which we will discuss further on in this article. At its lowest form, bail jumping in the third degree can result in a year jail sentence if convicted, and it is important to remember that these charges are separate from those that resulted in the bail situation to begin with so longer sentences may be possible depending on the outcome of the other criminal charges. Essentially, this charge applies when a person has been ordered by the court to be released upon the condition that they will appear personally at the next scheduled court appearance for the criminal action and they do not appear, nor appear voluntarily within the following thirty days.

If they have been released from custody and the criminal action they are involved with is a felony and they do not personally appear or voluntarily appear within thirty days following the scheduled appearance, the charge is now a class E felony. At this point, that would mean that the defendant is being charged with two separate felonies, the original criminal charge as well as the charge for not appearing. If the original charge is a class A or B felony and there is no appearance, the offense is charged as a class D felony.

To avoid further issues with the court, it is important that you retain a lawyer to assist with not only the original charges but the subsequent charges of bail jumping as well to make sure that the cases are handled correctly. As mentioned earlier, failing to respond to an appearance ticket is not as serious as it is only a violation, but it can result in an arrest warrant being issued for the defendant if no action is taken on the appearance ticket. For this reason, it is just as important to make sure that an appearance ticket is not ignored so that an arrest warrant will not be ordered by the court.

While bail jumping is a serious charge and lead to further complications of the original criminal charges, there are options in handling these charges in court and obtaining a favorable outcome for the defendant. Call now for a free consultation with one of our experienced New York criminal attorneys to discuss your case.