Nobody wants to be on either end of that one
collect phone call made from jail.
The person calling from jail is scared, confused, embarrassed, worried, desperate, alone. The person picking up the phone is also incredibly worried, scared and may not know where to turn to help their loved one in crisis.
If you are the person receiving that call, we are here to help.
When someone is arrested, the first concern is getting out of jail – as fast as possible. Just as important is legal protection – preserving legal rights, immediately investigating and mitigating damage, and, whenever possible, working to stop the case from going forward.
We do both.
As criminal defense attorneys, we can help our clients the most when we can get involved from the beginning, meeting with them the moment they are arrested and advising them about their rights and the criminal process. As lawyers, we often have answers and access that other agencies, such as bondsmen, cannot provide. By gathering details, investigating the circumstances of the arrest, and halting interrogation as we get your loved one out of jail, we might secure a more favorable position for the defense, right at the outset of the case.
There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone get out of jail. In the middle of the workday, or in the wee hours of the night, resolving such a crisis is the best part of our job. Call us for immediate assistance.
1. What you should know about a release from jail:
On average, it takes 4 – 6 hours for the Sheriff to release somebody from custody once the judge signs the bond and the lawyer turns the bond into Central Booking. This does not count the time for the client to be booked into jail by the police. This also does not count the time that it takes for the lawyer to interview the client, gather the background checks, fill out the bond paperwork, and meet with the judge. Please be aware that the person will likely be in custody for a minimum of 6 hours before he or she can be released.
2. When you call us:
Notify us immediately that you need to get someone out of jail. This helps our office prioritize your call as an emergency and handle the case as quickly as possible. If you are calling after business hours, we will know you need to get someone out of jail.
Please have as much as the following information available as possible so we can be of better help to you during our telephone conversation:
1) Name and date of birth of the person arrested
2) When the person was arrested
3) Their employment or education history
4) Your relationship to the person in jail
5) Which jail they called you from
6) What they were arrested for [if you don’t have it, we can look it up]
7) Bond amount [if you don’t have it, we can look it up]
After getting this information, we may need to make some follow-up phone calls to ascertain the bond amount and calculate the cost of doing the jail release. Once we can quote the fee for the release, we will either take payment by credit card over the phone, or make other payment arrangements with you.
Our office hours are 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and we can be reached during these hours at (512) 381-9955. To get someone out of jail after-hours, please call (512) 536-1374.
In some situations, a portion of the amount paid toward a jail release may be credited toward legal fees if we are later hired to handle the criminal case.