My brother got arrest for DUI and he called me and said they told him he couldn't get out on bond last night. Does that mean maybe he can today? Or how long will he have to stay there? Will he have to go to court? I haven't heard from him today so I just don't know what is happening. Should I call the police station?
Your brother may have some type of hold on him that prevents him from being bailed out. A call to the jail or police station may be helpful in finding out why he cannot be bailed out. A better option is hire an attorney to represent him (since he will need one anyway) and have the attorney find out why bail has not been set. The police or jailer will give an attorney more information than they may give you.
In most jurisdictions, if a person is arrested on DUI, they are taken to jail and must remain until seen by a judge at the first available hearing. If a person is arrested on the weekend, it generally means sitting in jail until Monday.
One sneaky and unlawful thing that police, prosecutors and courts do in some places is keep the arrested person overnight without setting a bail, and bringing that person in front of a judge the next morning with an offer of a guilty plea that sets you free, or a not guilty plea and a high bail. You need a lawyer to help right away.
Call the county jail - he is probably there - they can explain his bond status. If he was really intoxicated, they may have wanted him to detox prior to release if he has multiple priors, he may have needed to see a judge first if there are additional charges, he may need to see a judge any number of reasons keep a person locked up.
There may have been a first appearance hold. It's not right, but sometimes jails will put a hold on someone so they be seen by the judge first. Assuming he doesn't have anything else holding him (violation of probation or another case) then he should be able to bond out today.
Depending on his status in this country, it may be possible that there is an immigration hold (ie. if he is an illegal alien). You can check with the jail that he is being housed at to see if they will release that info to you, or you can have an attorney investigate it for you. Your brother should be speaking to a DUI Attorney regardless to defend him on these charges. That attorney can find out what his status is, and what the reason is for not allowing bond.
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