Bail in Pennsylvania is based on a number of factors such as the severity of the crime, the person’s prior criminal history and the person’s contacts with the community.

One of the biggest question that my firm receives is about the right to bail.  When a person is arrested, both he and his family want to know about how soon can we get out of jail and how much is it going to cost.  Bail in Pennsylvania is based on a number of factors and what a court will look at is obviously the severity of the crime, the person's prior criminal history and the person's contacts with the community.

Now if the person has strong contacts with the community, a family, a home, a business.  All of this helpful to a bail argument.  On top of that the court will determine whether or not a person is a threat to the community and that is normally based off of a person's prior criminal history.  So if they have convictions or even arrests for crimes of violence, that could affect the courts decision to raise or increase a bail.  Finally the court will look at the severity of the crime and whether or not the crime in and of itself deems a person a danger.

If you have questions about bail, I encourage you to read my book "Commonwealth v You".  It is a comprehensive guide about criminal defense in Pennsylvania.  I also encourage you to subscribe to my monthly newsletter which we put out.  It is an excellent guide that explains criminal defense concepts on a regular basis.

I look forward to meeting you in the office and wish you the best with your case.