When a defendant is arrested for DWI, the police officer has the option of booking the defendant in jail or issuing a summons to appear in court. If the defendant is booked in jail, a bail amount must be established by the judge or there may already be a schedule bail amount that the sheriff will apply. Many jails have schedule bail of $2500 for DWI first-offense. Therefore, a friend can post $2500 for the release of the defendant or hire a bail bondsman. Hiring a bail bondsman will cost 12% of the bail amount.
Since COVID, many police departments are allowing DWI defendants to be released upon the issuing of a summons to appear in court. This is due to jail overcrowding and safety. We get asked all the time if the fact that the defendant received a summons instead of getting booked is a good thing. It makes no difference. The issuing of the summons has nothing to do with the defendant or his/her case.
This article was written by Louisiana DWI attorney Carl Barkemeyer of Barkemeyer Law Firm.
If you need help with a DWI in Louisiana, feel free to contact us anytime.
Louisiana DWI lawyers at the Barkemeyer Law Firm providing legal defense services for clients in ALL of Louisiana.
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