What to Do When You Get Pulled Over

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If you spend enough time driving on the roads, you will most likely get pulled over. Whether it is for speeding, making an illegal u turn, having a tail light go out or any other reason, it is very important to remain calm and follow this procedure so a simple traffic stop does not escalate into something a lot more serious.

 

When You First See the Police Car

 

Pull over safely and quickly. Make sure to use your turn signals and pull over as far to the right of the shoulder as possible (if on the highway). Some police officers may be extremely high strung so it is important to show that you will be complying with them even before you actually meet them at your car window.

 

When the Police Officer is at Your Car

 

For many police officers even a simple traffic stop can end up in a life threatening situation. It is very important to show the police officer that you will not be a potential aggressor. Roll down your window and place your hands on the steering wheel. Always be polite and non confrontational, there is a lot to lose and not very much to gain for being rude to a police officer. When the officer asks to see identification or insurance documents, inform him where those documents are before you reach for them. Some police officers can see a sudden reach into a glove compartment as an aggressive move.

 

Unless Asked to Step Out, Stay in Your Car

 

Stay in your car during the duration of the traffic stop unless otherwise directed by the police officer. Getting out of your car during a traffic stop can lead to an unpleasant situation for you and could possibly lead to your arrest.

 

Following these procedures will ensure that your traffic stop goes as smoothly as possible and will stop you from running into legal trouble beyond the original cause of the traffic stop.

 

Things to Know About Civil Asset Forfeiture

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In Civil asset forfeiture, assets from individuals suspected to have engaged in criminal activities. The nature of the crime that may warrant confiscation varies with states but most commonly, assets from drug dealers, terrorists and their sympathizers, corrupt individuals either in government or out of government and even civil criminals. The aim of the controversial legal process is to allow the law enforcement agencies to use the proceeds from such seized to further battle with the criminal activities. Civil asset forfeiture suit is a dispute between the law enforcement institutions against the asset owner as opposed to the criminal procedure that involves two citizens. To get back the confiscated assets, the owner must prove that they are clean and that their assets were not involved in any criminal activity.

 

What necessitates asset forfeiture?

There has been an increase in the siphoning of public resources by corrupt government officials and other institutions that are out to steal public money. The stolen money is usually transferred to other countries leaving the affected countries in economic crisis. This is more common in developing countries. In other developed countries like the U.S, embezzlement of public funds is not as rampant as in the developing countries. However, they are battling organized crimes such as drug barons and the terrorist who are out to cause havoc to innocent civilians. The ill-gotten resources are used by these gangs to finance their activities across the globe hence the need for civil asset forfeiture. Freezing and recovery of these assets has been seen as the only lethal tool to fight their existence since they can survive without them.

 

What happens in civil asset forfeiture?

In Civil Asset Forfeiture, the assets of the suspected individuals should be frozen until the courts exonerate the suspect. This usually happens when they finish their appeals in most states; the law requires that financial institutions automatically freeze any bank transactions of the affected bank account for a certain period. Police are also allowed to confiscate physically the assets and keep them in their custody until such cases are determined. In the U.S, the legal process is more severe as the suspects can be convicted for several major and minor offenses that range from prostitution, tax evasion, corruption, and narcotic charges.

 

Relationship between Civil Asset Forfeiture and bail bonds

In most cases, victims of civil asset forfeiture go scot free without any charges in a court of law. This is because the legal process allows the only confiscation of the suspected assets. However, if one finds themselves in a court, then they can apply for bail bonds that give them the temporary freedom until the case is determined. Bail bond companies come in to pay the bail on behalf of the client so as to secure their release.

 

Controversies

A lot of controversies have surrounded Civil Asset Forfeiture. While most proponents of the system praise it for wiping out criminal activities, its critics think otherwise. The system presumes an individual guilty rather than innocent. The confiscated property usually finds it way in the auction centers where it sold at throw away prices. And again, most of the times the value of the taken property is usually smaller than the cost of the court process.

All About Posting Bail in Court

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Although it will not be the case for all people, there will come a time when unfortunate individuals will need bail to be posted for them. The posting of bail can prove to be a relieving experience for those with the threat of incarceration overhead. Having a clear understanding of what posting bail in court means and how to actually post bail are two things that can come in handy when having to deal with judicial issues.

What It All Means

At the most basic level, bail is the money that is used to get a person out of prison. When a person is accused of a crime, there will be a court hearing (often multiple hearings) that will be scheduled for a future date. During that time, the accused would normally have to sit in a jail cell. If bail is posted, the accused will have to come back for all court hearings, however, they will not have to sit in a cell until those dates roll around.

The amount that bail costs can vary greatly. Whether bail is set at a high monetary amount or a lower amount will all depend on a few factors such as how serious the crime committed was, the existing criminal record of the accused, and the accused’s current financial situation.

Whatever the amount is, the court will expect the entire amount to be paid to ensure that the accused will actually come back for scheduled hearing dates. Bail is basically a promise that the accused will return, as normally, bail money will be given back after the future trial dates.

How To Go About Posting Bail

Before bail can actually be posted through court, one has to be sure that they have the money to in fact post the proposed amount. If insufficient funds are an issue, then the accused can use a bail agent.

Bail agents will work somewhat like an insurance agency to the accused, in the sense that the accused will only pay a fraction of what the actual bail costs. At the end of the trial or trials, the bail agent (or bondsman) will get the remaining bail money, and not the accused.

If the accused is actually paying the bail themselves (without the help of a bondsman), then they can go about it a number of ways. The full monetary value that is set as bail can be paid in cash, the accused can sign over ownership of property that has a value equal to or greater than the bail amount, or the accused can sign a document that states they will show up to the set trial dates. The latter option is known as “being released on your own recognizance”.

Utilize What Is Available

By far, the path of least resistance would be to be released by your own recognizance. If that is an option, it is stated that it is a wise move to go that route, as there is not any money or signing over of property involved. Usually only people with a criminal record in good standing are eligible for that option.

Regardless of the way bail is posted, so long as it is indeed posted, that will ensure that the accused will not have to sit in a jail cell, awaiting trial.