Jail Credit When Charged With a New Crime
If you are in the scenario whereby you are charged and arrrested with a crime, bail is set, you post the bond and are then charged with a new crime, bail is set and you cannot post the new amount of the bail, make sure you do the following. In essence, you are charged with two crimes, one of which you have posted bond on and the other you are sitting in jail for because you cannot post the bond. The problem is that while you are in prison, your credit will only be applied to the new charge (for which you cannot post bond on) but not the other charge, for which you have posted the bond. This means that the jail credits are not being applied toward the first charge, if you are sentenced on that charge to a term of imprisonment.
A way to remedy this situation so that you are getting jail credits towards both charges is to raise the bond on the first charge. Usually, a court will raise the bond amount by a nominal amount. Once the bond on the first charge is raised, you are now gaining credit towards both charges to be applied by the Department of Corrections when you are sentenced. This may seem confusing but at a minimum be aware of the consequences and seek the opinion of an attorney or lawyer.
