When you are arrested on a Federal Crime, most likely, you will be held in jail until you have a hearing before a judge or magistrate. Unlike the state criminal justice system where you can post bond to get out of jail, all the money in the world cannot buy your way out of federal pretrial detention.
The federal system operates different from state criminal courts. Unlike the state system, most first time offenders in the federal system will spend time in federal prison. (When domestic diva Martha Stewart and Olympic champion Marion Jones and movie star Wesley Snipes all serve time in prison on a first offense, you get the idea that the system is remarkably harsh.) As a result, the Federal Magistrate must constantly weight the risk of whether the defendant will come back for further court hearings and face a possible prison sentence. Given the seriousness of most federal criminal penalties, simply paying a few thousand dollars to a bail bondsman isn't the kind of security that magistrates look for in making a release decision.
In more serious cases, the judge will assume you should be detained unless your lawyer can make a very convincing argument that you will not be a "flight risk" (meaning you will show up in court when you are supposed to do so) and that you will not be a danger to yourself or others if you are not in detention. In all cases, the legal team has a very short window of time to develop a witness list, produce evidence showing that you have strong ties to the community, and create a release plan to address the issues surrounding the client's home, work, and family life which will convince the judge to take the risk of letting you out of jail.
In federal criminal defense, the detention hearing may be the most crucial stage that determines how the case will be handled. If the client is released, he can be far more productive in assisting in his own defense. If detained, the pressure is to resolve the case as soon as possible and the client's ability to participate in his defense is more limited. So it is really important that we get involved from the very beginning. Contact us immediately so we can get started on convincing the judge that release is the right option.
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