Is Your Pennsylvania Bail Source Hearing Necessary

A bail source hearing in Pennsylvania is nothing to get too bent out of shape about, especially if you know for a fact that you have legitimate funds. But, the things that this type of hearing can possibly impose can sometime make posting bail difficult for an offender. For example, if a judge says the he or she can only post cash as their bail, the prisoner will have to coordinate the best way he can with the people who are posting bail for him while he’s still locked up. If the person has a good criminal defense lawyer, a cash-only stipulation (or any other) would be much easier to deal with and communicate to the inmate’s family and friends who are retrieving the bail money.

One of the reasons judges exercise their powers diligently at a Pennsylvania bail source hearing is because of the fact that the offender may have no real source of income, and in fact may have lived entirely off of illegal funds. Of course, that judge does not want to allow them to bail out with drug money, and that is why sometimes the stipulation of a source of funds inquiry is required.

This is basically a background check for the money posted in which police and/or other investigators take special measures to figure out where the money came from that the offender used to get out of jail. Still, there are other situations where the concern of the court is different, such as if they were worried about if the defendant is a flight risk. If they feel he or she will run if released, they could do things like deny bail, or require them to surrender their passport.

In any event, it is up to the defendant to keep it 100% honest with his or her criminal defense lawyer. The first thing they should do is simply ask them how much approximately they think the bail will be. The defendant can then ask their lawyer if their particular judge normally announces large bail amounts. They should let their attorney know where their bail money will be coming from specifically. This way, their lawyer can do their best to assemble any documents, letters, check stubs or any other proof that the money is legit. Your criminal defense lawyer can make your bail source hearing in Pennsylvania an easy process.