Bail Bond Blog & Articles

Rideshare programs like Uber and Lyft are a great way for some people to supplement their income. The programs are designed so that you get to choose your hours. In some cities, people have found that they were able to live a respectful living as a rideshare driver. The problem some people encounter is that they aren’t properly prepared for the reality of becoming part of a rideshare program. There are some legal issues you should review before you pick up your first customer. As rideshare programs gained popularity, California lawmakers realized that they needed to step in and start regulating the practice. This led to the creation of several state laws. It’s important to understand that these state laws pertain to anyone who is part of a rideshare program, it doesn’t matter if you’re a full-time driver or if you’re picking up your first passenger. California state laws rideshare drivers must familiarize themselves with include:
  • A sticker that identifies you as a rideshare driver has to be prominently displayed on your vehicle.
  • One sticker on the windshield, one on the rear window.
  • You must consent to an annual background check
  • The vehicle you use for rideshares must be inspected every 12 months or every 50,000 miles
  • You must pick up and transport customers who have service dogs
  • Vehicles used for rideshares must adhere to California’s current climate emission levels
07 April, 2021 /

Living in a dog-friendly neighborhood is great. There’s something about a community that’s full of dogs that makes the area feel homier and safer. The only downside is if one...

07 April, 2021 /

It doesn’t matter if you’re in civil or legal court, you want to make sure you’ve dressed appropriately. The good news is that getting dressed for court isn’t difficult. How...

05 April, 2021 /

If you have a green thumb and a good-sized garden, you’ve likely grown more produce than you can eat. A roadside stand is a great way to find a home...

05 April, 2021 /

In California, you have the right to defend yourself, even if you’re not inside of your home at the time. The issue is dealt with in California’s self-defense laws which...

24 March, 2021 /

Videos of police officers behaving badly have a history of going viral. This sheds a bad light on police officers throughout the entire state of California. If you plan on...

24 March, 2021 /
Spring break is finally here! It’s time to cut loose, forget all about your studies, and have a good time. While there’s nothing wrong with relaxing and enjoying yourself, don’t forget that you’re not allowed to drink alcohol until you’re at least twenty-one years old. If you choose to ignore this, an underage drinking charge won’t just ruin your spring break, it will also have a negative impact on your life over the next few years. It doesn’t matter if you’re pulled over for speeding or if the cops show up at a party, if your blood alcohol content is over .05 and you’re under twenty-one, you’ll find yourself on the wrong side of the law. For the record, a single beer is all it takes to put you over .05. The days when an underage drinking charge resulted in a difficult phone call to your parents and some community service time are long over. California lawmakers have decided to crack down on underage drinking during spring break. The first time you get caught drinking while you’re underage, the potential consequences are:
  • Serving 24-32 hours of community service
  • A $250 fine
  • Attending an alcohol education program
22 March, 2021 /
U.S. citizens who reside in the United States can receive a letter in the mail that summons them to serve on a jury. This is called jury duty. If selected to serve on the jury you’ll listen to a court case and use what you learned during the trial to decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty.

Who is Eligible for Jury Duty?

In California, there are some people who aren’t required to respond to a jury duty summons. People who are exempt include:
  • Residents who aren’t U.S. citizens
  • Anyone under the age of 18
  • Anyone who demonstrates that they don’t have a strong enough grasp of the English language to adequately understand/discuss the details of the case
  • Anyone who has been convicted of a felony and not yet had their civil rights restored
  • Anyone who lacks the ability to care for themselves and is under a conservatorship
  • Anyone who has received a jury duty summons within the last 12 months
22 March, 2021 /

Many people find that they have to complete a specific number of hours of community service as a part of their sentence. Some people love this because community service can...

08 March, 2021 /

Most of us have been involved in pranks, both as the person pulling the prank on another and as someone who has been pranked. In most cases, the pranks are...

24 February, 2021 /
One of the problems with California’s legal system is that sometimes it’s difficult to know that you’re breaking the law. In many disorderly conduct cases, people think they’re just having a good time or being opinionated until the police show up. Sometimes people don’t even know what they’ve done until they hear the charges as the booking officer works through the paperwork. What is considered disorderly conduct can vary from one state to another? Some cities even have different rules regarding what is and isn’t disorderly conduct. In California, disorderly conduct is generally considered behavior that irritates, stresses, or alarms those around you. That doesn’t mean your little sister can file disorderly conduct charges against you each time you annoy her while you’re at home. However, if the pair of you are at a bar and you start shouting at her, the other bar patrons will likely call the police and you could be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Most disorderly conduct cases in California involve at least one person who is publicly intoxicated. In addition to getting too wild while at the bar, California considers the following activities to be forms of disorderly conduct:
  • Lewd/lascivious acts
  • Soliciting
  • Engaging in Prostitution
  • Loud public arguments
  • Invasion of privacy
  • “Peeping”
24 February, 2021 /
Making a fake or prank phone call to 911 might seem like good fun but it’s not something you want to follow through with. Neither law enforcement offices nor court officials have a sense of humor. To put it simply, making fake or prank 911 calls is illegal. In some situations, that single phone call could even result in felony charges. The best way to learn just how much trouble making a fake or prank 911 call can land you in is by setting aside a few minutes to read California’s Penal Code 148.3. When you do, you’ll learn that you can’t:
  • Call 911 and make a fake report of a crime/injury/accident
  • You can’t make a 911 call that results in the dispatcher or a law enforcement offer making a 911 report
  • You can’t use 911 to report a fictional emergency
  • You can’t call 911 and make a report that you know is false
22 February, 2021 /
Did you know that California leads the nation in exonerations? According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 120 people have been exonerated in California. Additional research reveals that in the past 30 years, California courts have dealt with over 200 wrongful conviction cases. It’s estimated that the amount of time the wrongfully convicted served for crimes they didn’t do adds up to 1,300 years. It’s also believed that the total cost of these wrongful convictions cost about $129 million. That’s both incredible and alarming.

What is an Exoneration?

According to the legal dictionary, an exoneration is, “ The taking off a burden or duty.
    2. It is a rule in the distribution of an intestate's estate that the debts which he himself contracted, and for which be mortgaged his land as security, shall be paid out of the personal estate in the exoneration of the real.
22 February, 2021 /
Yes, it’s only January and your 2020 tax return isn’t due until mid-April, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore that tax season is officially here. The last thing you want to do is wait until a few days before the deadline to file. Turning your thoughts to your tax return now and creating a plan to help you prepare them reduces a great deal of tax season stress. The key to keeping your stress levels low during tax season is creating a plan of attack. Create a list of specific tasks that need to be completed and determine when you’ll do them. You’ll be amazed how much a solid plan of attack smooths out the process of filing your 2020 tax return.

Gather Your Paperwork

Spend the second half of January and the first half of February gathering up all the paperwork you need to complete your 2020 tax return. The paperwork you need to have on hand before you’re ready to start preparing your tax return includes:
  • W2s
  • Documents that indicate itemized expenses such as child care, medical insurance, and educational costs
  • Any 1099s connected to freelance contractors you hired throughout the year
  • Donation receipts
  • Mortgage interest payment documents
  • An itemized list of business expenses (if relevant)
  • Investment statements
  • Receipts for any tax-deductible purchases you made throughout the year
10 February, 2021 /
Most Americans know that the First Amendment grants the right to free speech. The problem that many of us encounter is we don’t fully grasp the differences between free speech and slander.

What is Free Speech?

Many of us interpret the First Amendment to mean that we’re free to say whatever we want, to whomever we want, whenever we want. That’s not the way free speech works. The purpose of free speech is to provide Americans with the ability to openly speak against the government without fear of legal ramifications. What freedom of speech doesn’t do is allow you to say whatever you want about neighbors, family, and businesses you don’t like.

What is Slander?

The legal definition of slander is, “oral defamation, in which someone tells one or more persons an untruth about another which untruth will harm the reputation of the person defamed. Slander is a civil wrong (tort) and can be the basis for a lawsuit. Damages (payoff for worth) for slander may be limited to actual (special) damages unless there is malicious intent, since such damages are usually difficult to specify and harder to prove. Some statements such as an untrue accusation of having committed a crime, having a loathsome disease, or being unable to perform one's occupation are treated as slander per se since the harm and malice are obvious, and therefore usually result in general and even punitive damage recovery by the person harmed. Words spoken over the air on television or radio are treated as libel (written defamation) and not slander on the theory that broadcasting reaches a large audience as much if not more than printed publications.” In California, slander legally takes place when:
  • You say something that you know is untrue
  • When you make a statement that you know isn’t privileged
  • When you make a statement that is said with the intent to do harm or cause an injury
10 February, 2021 /

Families fight. Some just happen to fight more than others. The trick to weathering family fights is recognizing the signs that the fight is starting to escalate into something that...

08 February, 2021 /
Bait and switch is a cute term that refers to a nasty con game. If you’re the victim of a bait and switch scam you’ve purchased one item only to be given something that doesn’t match the description of what you purchased. Bait and switch typically involve businesses who use the tactic to lure customers in by advertising a great product at a fantastic price only to provide something that’s quite different.

Identifying That you Were a Victim of Bait and Switch

The FTC has done an excellent job of creating guidelines that clarify when a “bait and switch” situation has happened. According to the FTC, you weren’t a victim of a bait and switch con if you:
  • Were convinced to buy something different
  • If the seller simply runs out of whatever item they were promoting, especially when the business clearly stated that they only had limited quantities of the promoted item
  • The only way you are a true victim of bait and switch is when the seller clearly had no intention of selling the promoted product.
27 January, 2021 /
Most of us have watched enough procedural shows to know that bail is what you pay to be sprung from jail while you wait for your case to make its way to court. Most of us also know that a bail bond agency, like San Marcos Bail Bonds, is a business that helps you cover the cost of your bail. In most situations, that’s is where our knowledge ends. Very few people understand that before we can help bail you out of jail you’ll have to sign a bail agreement. If you’re wondering what a bail agreement is, you’re not alone. It is seldom explained properly. The bail agreement is a surprisingly simple contract that serves as a binding legal document between you, the Indemnitor, and us, the bail bond agency that wants to help you reunite with your loved ones. The agreement is very clear. Every single aspect of our relationship is carefully spelled out. The bail agreement discusses the terms of your bail, serves as an agreement that you’ll attend all of your mandatory court dates and lays out the bail payment plan we agree on. We feel that it’s important that you understand you don’t have to sign the bail agreement right away. Take as much time as you need to review the information and decide if we’re your best option. We don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret. When you sign our bail agreement, we want you to understand what you’re getting into. We encourage you to not only take our time and carefully read over the agreement but to also come to us with any questions. Our willingness to discuss every single aspect of our bail bond agreement is just one of the perks you’ll enjoy when you turn to San Marcos Bail Bonds for help with your bail situations. We’re renowned throughout California for our excellent service which includes:
  • 24/7 Bail bond service
  • 20% Discount
  • Phone approvals
  • 0% Interest payment plans
  • Free consultations
  • No hidden fees
  • No collateral required for working signers
  • Habla Espanol
27 January, 2021 /