Personal Bonds
PR Bonds
PR Bond stands for a Personal Release or Personal Bond, both of which mean that the Court has released the person on a "promise to appear in court." Often, a PR or personal bond is granted as part of an attorney's Jail Release. This means, rather than requiring the person to pay up a surety bond (bail bond company) or cash bond, the court believes the person is responsable enough to return to court. Often, this decision is based on:
- criminal history;
- severity of the offense;
- history of previous bond forfeitures;
- whether they person hires an attorney or has a public defender;
- the facts of the case according to the officer;
The Judge is not limited to these issues above, and might not consider some, but each case is different.
Active Warrant or In-Jail?
Sometimes, Personal bonds depend on whether a person is in jail or doing a walkthrough from a warrant. For more info on each, check out: Getting a Loved One out of Jail (Jail Release) or Clearing an Active Arrest Warrant.
Legislative Update 2021: Senate Bill 6 Passed. Senate Bill 6, passed in the legislature in 2021, drastically altered the availability of personal bonds in the criminal justice system. As a reminder, a personal bond is a release from jail by the court without needing to pay for it. Senate Bill 6, specifically Art. A17.027, mainly prohibits a new Judge from releasing a person on a personal bond if that person was re-arrested while out on bond for certain offenses. In other words, a situation where a person was already released on bond, and that case is still pending -- and then they are arrested on a new (usually violent) charge. In that situation, the original Judge (the one presiding over the first arrest) has control over personal bonds, to an extent. This is a newly evolving statute and law, and only certain offenses apply, so call us if you or your loved one has been either re-arrested or has a warrant while already on bond with a pending case.
Pretrial Services Denied a Personal Bond!
Travis County Pretrial Services is an arm of the Judiciary. They are advisory only. The merely collect data and report the data to the judge. The fact that pretrial services denies a personal bond is pretty much meaningless. An Attorney may speak with a Judge about a personal bond, regardless of pretrial service's decision. Most of the time, pretrial services denies a personal bond based on an address or phone number that a family member can't remember. We estimate that about 85% of the bonds a Judge signs for Keates Law Firm has previously been rejected by pretrial services. If a loved one or friend has been rejected by pretrial services, please call us immediately, so we can talk to a Judge and try to get the person out of jail.
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How We Can Help
The Keates Law Firm has over 16+ Years Experience handling criminal defense cases. Our focus is to try and have the case dismissed against you. We don't even discuss pleas until all legal and negotiation options have been explored in detail.
Here are some of the benefits of hiring Keates Law Firm:
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- Robert handles your case, not a junior lawyer
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