Nebbia Holds And Your Florida Criminal Defense Case

Facing criminal charges is nerve wracking under any circumstances, but it is exponentially worse when you watch the minutes until your trial creeps by, punctuated only by meetings with your criminal defense lawyer, from inside a jail cell.  It is easier to tolerate if you can move about somewhat freely, even within your own county or with a GPS ankle monitor, or even only within your own home, because you can still invite your friends to visit you whenever you choose, and you can order DoorDash from your favorite restaurants or ask your sister to bring you a steady stream of Publix leaf cookies.  This way, even if you eventually decide to plead guilty and face a prison sentence pursuant to mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, you can make peace with this decision in the presence of familiar people and places.  The court should allow you to post bail, and it usually does, except in the cases of the most serious crimes and if there is a risk that you will obstruct justice, such as by tampering with evidence.  If your bail situation is more complicated than it should be, such as if the court has imposed a Nebbia hold, contact a Tampa criminal defense lawyer.

Nebbia Holds Come and Go, but Your Right to the Presumption of Innocence Remains

A Nebbia hold, named after the United States v. Nebbia Supreme Court decision of 1966, is when the court requires a defendant who is posting bail to prove that he or she has obtained the money legally; if a Nebbia hold is not present from the earliest stages, the court must simply let you go when you post bail, no matter how shady the money looks.  To place a Nebbia hold, the officer who arrests you can request it in the initial police report, the prosecution can request it when filing charges; the judge can even take the initiative to place the Nebbia hold, but he or she must do it when initially setting the bail amount.  Once the Nebbia hold has been placed, then to go free on bail, you must not only pay the bail money, you must also provide documentation of its source.

To remove a Nebbia hold, file a petition to remove it.  As soon as the court receives the petition, your lawyer can submit a proffer, which is a document showing where you got the bail money.  Another option is to present oral testimony at a Nebbia hold hearing.  You can go on the witness stand and say where you got the money, and so can the family member who lent it to you, the employer who paid it to you in exchange for your work, or an employee of the bail bond company that posted your bail after you paid them a percentage of the bail amount.

Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven

A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges and have the option to post bail.  Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.

Source:

law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/357/303/38529/