Sheffron, Lee & Associates

You can be arrested in North Carolina if a judge or a magistrate has issued an arrest warrant which directs the police to take you into custody. If an arrest warrant has not been issued, you may be arrested if a police officer has reasonable ground to believe you have committed or are committing a crime. You may also be arrested if you have failed to appear for a criminal court date when you were required to do so.

If you are arrested, you will be brought before a magistrate for an Initial Appearance and he or she will determine if probable cause exists for the charge that you are facing. If probable cause is found, you will be advised of a date you must appear in court and the court will set conditions for your release and consider whether or not to release you on bond, and the type of bond to be set.  Bond is a monetary guarantee for the court that you will appear each and every time you are ordered to do so while your case is pending. In North Carolina there are several types of bond. 

Secured bond may be satisfied with cash, property, or by a bondsman.

Cash bond requires that the full bond amount be surrendered to the court in cash and it can be posted by anyone. (If you are arrested on charges of drug trafficking, you may be requested, although not very common) to prove that your bond money is coming from non-drug revenue sources before it will be accepted by the court.) The court will retain this money until your criminal case is concluded at which time it will be returned to you. The full bond amount will be forfeited to the court if you fail to appear for your trial.

Property bond is one that posts the value of real estate in order to obtain pre-trial release from jail. You will not be permitted to put up your own property and if a warranty deed or tax statement indicates that there is more than one owner, each owner must sign an agreement declaring that the property may be used to finance your bond.

Surety bond is, in essence, a contract with a bondsman for the total amount of your bond. A surety bond is usually written for a 15% premium of the full bond amount and the premium will not be returned to you.

Unsecured bond is a promise to appear in court when necessary and to comply with any set conditions. If you should fail to appear in court or violate any of the conditions of you release, you would be liable for a money judgment in the full amount of the bond.

Written promise (sometimes known as a release on your own recognizance) is a signed promise to appear in court when scheduled and to comply with any set conditions of release.

Custody release is a court order declaring that a defendant may only be released into the care and supervision of a named responsible person. The most common use of this release involves the parent of a juvenile defendant.