Getting New Charges while on Bond in Illinois
By Dan Noll on January 5th, 2014 in
If you have been charged with a felony in Illinois, likely the judge will Set a Bond. Bond is money posted at the jail to secure your presence at all future court dates. After you are bonded out, it is important that you understand you will be under close scrutiny by the judge and prosecutor.
When a person is on pre-trial release (bond), one of the conditions of bond is that they do not commit a new offense. If a person does get arrested, bond may be revoked or raised. More importantly, if a person is charged with another felony while on bond, it is mandatory that new charge is consecutive to the old charge.
Consecutive Sentencing
Consecutive sentences mean that after a sentence is completed on the first offense, then the sentence on the second offense begins. This differs from concurrent sentencing where all of the time is served at once.
For example, if a person is sentenced to 2 years on a case concurrent with another 2 years, they will only serve two years. However, if a person is sentenced to 2 years on a case consecutive to another 2 years, that means they will serve 4 years in prison. As you can see, consecutive sentences can be very severe. A person may nickle and dime their way into a dollars worth of trouble.
Electing on a Case
When a person has more than one pending case, the prosecutor can elect on which case they wish to proceed on first. This mean the state chooses which case goes to trial first. Generally speaking, the prosecutor will elect on the case they believe that they have the strongest chance of convicting the person on. They will then use the other case as a reason to enhance the sentence on the first case. This generally results in higher sentences.
Point being, if you are on bond for any offense in Illinois, it is important that you do not get charged with additional cases. If you are arrested and released on bond in Sangamon County, our Criminal Defense Lawyers can take Bond Assignments to represent you. In addition, if you are charged with more than one case, you need experienced and professional representation to fight for you in court.
Contact the Criminal Defense Lawyers today at the Noll Law Office at (217) 414-8889 for a Free Initial Consultation and don’t forget to Like Us on Facebook.