Arthur Hearings are known as a bond hearing for non-bondable charges. A bond is a guarantee that a person will show up for trial, secured with an item with monetary value or money itself. Bail and bond are terms that are interchangeable in Tampa. Generally, someone goes to a bondsman and puts up a certain percentage of the bond amount while the bail bondsman puts up the rest. There may be additional requirements from the bond agent such as paperwork and cosigners to guarantee appearance at trial. The bond is then posted, and the person is released from jail until their criminal trial.

Normally, bonds range between $500 and $1,500 for misdemeanor offenses, which include things like trespassing, DUI, or battery. For felonies they can range between $5,000 and $100,000 but can be much more. The actual amount depends upon various factors such as the number of charges, the degree of the charges, and the defendant’s prior history. But there are some crimes for which a person may not be eligible for a bond automatically. These are known as capital felonies, and they are serious felonies that can carry decades or life sentences in prison, making the court extremely wary about offering bail as an option.