Bond Court/Bond Hearings

Award-Winning Highly Experienced Bond Court/Bond Hearing Lawyer

If you are arrested for a felony in Illinois, the law requires that you be brought before a Judge in Bond Court as soon as possible for the Judge to determine how much money you will be required to post in order to be released from jail until your case is finished. The law does not require that you personally appear in court for this Bond Hearing. A Bond Hearing is only required for a felony, not for a misdemeanor. The police are required to take you to Bond Court as soon as possible after your arrest. The Bond Hearing will usually happen within 72 hours of your arrest. If the Judge requires that cash be posted in order for you to be released from jail, the Bond can be posted at the courthouse. If the cash bond is posted at the courthouse, you will be released directly from the courthouse. If the cash Bond is not posted at the courthouse, the arresting police agency will turn you over to the County Sheriff and you will be taken to the County Jail. If you are taken to the County Jail, the cash Bond must be posted at the County Jail in order for you to be released.

Whether a Bond is set, and what the amount of the Bail (Bond) will be, is based on a variety of statutory factors and the Supreme Court rules. The statutory factors (36 factors) are set out at 725 ILCS 5/1110-5(a). The amount of the Bail (Bond) must be sufficient to ensure compliance with the conditions of the Bond and to ensure that you appear in Court to answer to the criminal charges. The Court will take the financial resources of a defendant into consideration when setting a Bond. A Bond cannot be excessive. The Judge sitting in Bond Court has almost complete discretion in setting the amount of the Bond. It is common to see different Bonds set by different judges for similar crimes and similar offenses. There is no set formula for setting a Bond. The amount of the Bond will vary depending on the County, the Courthouse, and the Judge.

Why Hiring the Right Lawyer is Important at a Bond Hearing?

The Judge in Bond Court decides whether to set a Bond, and the amount of the Bond. If no Bond is set, or if the amount of the Bond is too high, you will be required to stay in County Jail until your case is over. You will not be allowed to go home and go back to work. You will not be able to work with your lawyer to assist him in defending you. It is absolutely critical that you be released on Bond. An experienced and knowledgeable Bond Court/Bond Hearing lawyer, like James Dimeas, will give you the best chance of having a low Bond set so that you may be released from jail so that you can go on with your life.

The Bond Court/Bond Hearing is your first opportunity to confront the State and begin to challenge their case in Court. While the State is not required to present all of their evidence at a Bond Court/Bond Hearing, it will be your first opportunity to present your case and yourself to the Court in the light most favorable to you. Your lawyer will be given an opportunity to try to convince the Judge why you are a good person and why you should be allowed to go back home. An experienced Bond Court/Bond Hearing lawyer, like James Dimeas, will know what to do and what to say to present you in the best light in Bond Court at your Bond Hearing. An experienced Bond Court/Bond Hearing lawyer, like James Hearing, will give you the best chance of having a low Bond set and will begin the process of setting up a successful and effective defense of the criminal charges that you are facing.

Bond Court/Bond Hearing attorney, James Dimeas, has been handling Bond Hearings throughout Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, and Lake County, for over-29 years. James Dimeas understands how Bond Hearings work and how Bonds are set in the different counties, the different courthouses, and the different Judges throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. James Dimeas has been successful in having almost all of his clients released on Bond. James Dimeas understands how to use a Bond Hearing in Bond Court to begin the process of successfully setting up an effective defense to criminal charges. James Dimeas knows how to convince a Court to set a low Bond so that you can be released from jail and go home and go back to work.

What Types of Bonds are There in Illinois?

Generally, Illinois Law provides for the setting of three types of bonds. The three different types of bonds in Illinois are set for as follows:

1. I-Bond – This type of bond is generally referred to as an “Individual Recognizance Bond” or a “Signature Bond”. If the Judge sets an I-Bond you will not be required to post any money. You will simply need to sign the bond papers and promise to comply with all of the conditions of the Bond, especially to appear for all court dates. This usually happens in relatively minor cases or when the Defendant has little, or no criminal background.

2. D-Bond – This is the most common type of Bond imposed in Illinois criminal cases. If a Judge sets a D-Bond, you will be required to post 10% of the Bond amount in cash. So, if the amount of the D-Bond is $10,000, you will be required to post $1,000 to be released. Since bail bondsmen are not allowed in Illinois you must come up with the cash from your own financial resources.

3. C-Bond – A C-Bond requires that the entire amount of the Bond be posted in cash in order to be released on Bail. If a Judge sets a $10,000 C-Bond, you will be required to post the entire $10,000 in cash in order to be released. A C-Bond is the least common form of Bond in Illinois. It is reserved for serious cases or in situations in which the criminal record of the defendant is extensive. Many times, the effect of the Court setting a C-Bond is similar to the Judge setting a high Bond or no Bond at all.

What is a Source of Funds or Source of Bail Hearing?

If the prosecutor presents sufficient evidence to the Court at the Bond Hearing that you are involved in criminal activity and that they believe that the only way you can post the funds necessary to pay the Bond is by using money that was obtained through illegal means, the State may request that the Court require that you prove that the money that is being used to post your Bond is money that was obtained from legal and lawful sources. This hearing is known as a Source of Funds or Source of Bail Hearing. This usually happens in drug cases where the prosecutor believes that you are a drug dealer and that the money that will be used to post your Bond is money that was obtained by drug dealing. If a prosecutor makes this request and the Court grants their motion for a Source of Funds or Source of Bail Hearing, this means that you cannot be released on Bond until you prove to the court that the money being used for your Bond was money that was lawfully and legitimately obtained. The burden of proof is on you, the defendant, to prove to the Court that the money being used for your Bond is from lawful and legitimate sources.

A Source of Funds or Source of Bail Hearing requires that a Petition be prepared that contains sufficient evidence to prove to the Court that the money that will be posted for your Bond is money that was obtained through lawful sources and legal means. Once the Petition for Source of Funds is filed and presented to the Court, the State is given an opportunity to investigate the evidence that is presented in the Petition for Source of Funds and the matter is set for a hearing in front of a Judge. At that hearing, the defendant has the burden of proving that the Source of Funds being used to post Bond are from legitimate and lawful sources. The defendant will be required to present live testimony from witnesses and from the people that will be contributing money to post the Bond. The Court must be persuaded by the defendant that the funds that are being used to post the Bond are from legitimate and lawful sources.

Source of Funds lawyer, James Dimeas, has been handling Source of Funds Hearings for over-29 years throughout Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, and Lake County. James Dimeas has extensive experience in handling Source of Funds and Source of Bail Hearings and knows what is required to convince the Court that the defendant should be allowed to post Bond. James Dimeas understands what is required to win a Source of Funds, or Source of Bail Hearing and will do what needs to be done to convince the court that you should be released on Bond.

James Dimeas – One of the Best Bond Court/Bond Hearing Lawyers in Chicago

James Dimeas has been handling Bond Hearings in Bond Courts throughout Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, and Lake County for over-27 years. James Dimeas understands how Bond Courts operate throughout the different counties and in every Courthouse. James Dimeas knows where the Bond Courts are in each County and in each Courthouse, and what time Bond Court is held at. James Dimeas knows many of the Bond Court Judges and knows what factors they take into consideration and how to convince them to set a low cash Bond, or an I-Bond, in order to have his clients released from jail.

Highly Experienced Bond Court/Bond Hearings Lawyer for Your Bond Hearing

James Dimeas is a nationally-recognized, award-winning, Bond Court/Bond Hearing lawyer. Recently, James Dimeas was recognized by the American Society of Legal Advocates as a “Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer In the State of Illinois For the Year 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.” Expertise named James Dimeas a “Best Criminal Defense Lawyer in Chicago.” James Dimeas was named a “Best DUI Attorney. Attorney and Practice Magazine gave James Dimeas the “Top 10 Criminal Defense Attorney Award for Illinois,” and the “Top 10 DUI Defense Attorney” award. The National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys gave James Dimeas the “Top 10 Attorney Award for the State of Illinois.” The American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys named James Dimeas a “10 Best Attorney for Client Satisfaction.” The National Trial Lawyers named James Dimeas a “Top 100 Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer.” AVVO rates James Dimeas as “Superb,” 10 out of 10, the highest rating possible for any Bond Court lawyer in the United States.

If you have a Bond Hearing in Bond Court in Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, or Lake County, you can always contact James Dimeas for a free and confidential consultation. You can always talk to James Dimeas personally by calling 847-807-7405.