Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

bonds

igot a dui in washington.cash bond was set.i paid it.went to first court appearance.judge asked me if i pd to get out on the cash bond , i said yes.he asked me if i was working.i said yes. he said , oh , in that case i am upping that cash bond to another 500 cash bond. secondly, pay it or go to jail. period. i hadnt had time to retain an attoriney at that perticular time, i was solo.needless to even say; i paid.

but question is : can that judge actually do that to me or to anyone else for that matter? nothing that i had done in the past or do during or at anytime at all that would have been usable legally that i can see would justify that type of action. if that were the case? heck , might as well have a free for all , right?i am being very serious here, he really did do that out right.


Asked on 7/07/08, 7:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James J. White, attorney Law Offices of Smith & White, PLLC

Re: bonds

CrRLJ 3.2 is specific as to the reasons the judge can set a bail or raise a bail. It doesn't sound like any of those apply here. It sounds like an arbitrary and capricious exercise of his discretion. You may wish to contact the judiciary conduct committee to make a complaint. Also, you will want to use your affidavit of prejudice to remove this judge from your case in the future. Lastly, you can make a motion to reconsider, although lowering your bail may not help you any once you've posted and lost your ten percent (if you used a bondsman).

At your service,

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Answered on 7/07/08, 10:49 pm


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