Legal Question in Elder Law in Louisiana

Re: report written wrong

Dear LawGuru Friend,

It is the judge who fixes the amount of the bond on a pending criminal case/charge, and it is the judge who can lower it once fixed. From what you have posted it appears that the judge fixed the bond based on the original police report which has been or will be revised soon so that the matter does not appear to be as serious as it may have originally appeared when the judge first set the amount of the bond. Once the report has been revised, the defendant, or someone on his behalf can contact the judge and/or the prosecutor to see about getting the amount of the bond lowered. Sometimes the judge will tend to such a matter as the result of a phone call and/or letter, and sometimes the judge will say that he will not change the amount of the bond without a hearing; so, therefore, in such a case someone needs to file a motion on behalf of the defendant to have the judge reconsider the amount of the bail bond. In Louisiana, the judges who fix the amount of bailbonds get a percentage of the money paid to a professional bailsbondsman for a bail bond; so, the appearance is certainly there that the judges have a financial interst in setting the bails bonds high; for the higher they are set, the more money the judges get when when these bonds are made.

There is more to it all than this, but this is something to consider. You may call me should you desire to discuss this further. There is no charge for just talking about the law. Best of luck to you and the person you are interested in helping!

Sincerely,

Hardy Parkerson, Atty.

Lake Charles, LA

[email protected]