HOW TO POST A BOND

Please call me immediately upon the arrest of a loved one or friend. Judges routinely set bonds approximately every 4 hours. Many Judges will agree to a request by an attorney to review a bond. The Judge will review the charges, review the warrant/ citation, criminal history, and information regarding the defendant's prior court attendance. The setting of a bond is based on the seriousness of the offense, the perceived risk of the defendant to harm themselves or others, and the risk of failing to reappear in court. A Pretrial Services worker will provide additional information and an assessment to the Judge regarding whether a defendant is a low, medium or high risk not to reappear in court. If your friend or loved calls from jail, please tell them to be polite and answer the pretrial service worker's questions.

At this point a Judge has several options. The Judge may decide to release a person on their own recognizance (R.O.R), release the defendant on a set of conditions such as no contact with the prosecuting witness or no driving, the Judge may set a bond for the defendant to post, or the Judge may agree to release the person on Home Incarceration. Given the experience of the bench in Jefferson County and the statutory language, the Judges in Jefferson County traditionally set reasonable bonds. Part of my job as an attorney is to educate the Judge with accurate information regarding my client ties to the community, work history, criminal history, risk assessment to self or others, family and friends involvement with the defendant, and prior attendance in court.

If after I have talked to a Judge and a Judge has set a bond, I recommend that you contact the Jefferson District Court Clerk's Office at (502) 595-4428. This message center will provide you instructions on how to post a bond. In order to post a bond you will need to be at least 18 years old, possess a valid US government issued identification. The Clerk's office will accept cash, certified check, debit or credit card. Please note that the clerk's office does not accept Visa cards. You will need to pay a $25.00 bond fee to post a bond.

Recently, the Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court met with all Kentucky Judges to encourage the collection of bond forfeitures. Please be aware that if the defendant fails to appear in court, a Judge may order the bond to be forfeited to the state. For example, if the Judge has set a bond for $10,000/10% this means that the defendant is released if a friend or family member posts a $1,000.00. Please note if the defendant fails to appear in this case, the family or friend will forfeit $10,000.00 not just the $1000.00 posted.

Payment for an inmate's bonds can be accepted 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Inmate Bond payments can be posted in the Hall of Justice located at Criminal/Traffic District Court Clerk's office, First Floor, Hall of Justice, 600 W. Jefferson Street, Louisville, KY 40202.

In order to be eligible to post a bond payment, you must meet the following criteria:

You must appear in person.
You must be at least 18 years of age.
You must provide government issued valid picture Identification.
You must post the bond payment with Cash, Certified Check, some Debit Cards, or Credit Cards.*Debit Cards have a $2.50 service charge and MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are now accepted. If you wish to post the bond payment and you are unable to appear in person, you must send the funds to the inmates account. The inmate can allocate the funds towards the bond.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ONCE THE BOND IS POSTED IT WILL TAKE 6-8 HOURS BEFORE THE FAMILY MEMBER, FRIEND, OR LOVED ONE IS PROCESSED AND RELEASED FROM JAIL. THE DEFENDANT WILL BE GIVEN AN ARRAIGNMENT COURT DATE TWO TO THREE DAYS AFTER THEIR RELEASE FROM JAIL.