There are instances in the North Carolina where setting bond may be delayed by a judicial official for defendants charged with Domestic Violence and related offenses. In these cases, a defendant may be subject to a hold period, and may not be able to post bond immediately.
When a defendant is charged with assault on, stalking, criminal trespass, communicating a threat to, or committing a felony upon a spouse or former spouse, a person with whom the defendant lives or has lived as if married, or a person with whom the defendant is or has been in a dating relationship, or with violation of an order entered pursuant to Chapter 50B, Domestic Violence, the judicial official who determines the conditions of pretrial release shall be a judge.
The judge must order a criminal history report from law enforcement or the district attorney and consider the defendant’s criminal history report when setting the Conditions of Release, but may not unreasonably delay determining the Conditions of Release for the purpose of reviewing such report. In addition to requiring the execution of a secured bond, judicial officials often impose a No Contact With Victim Order and require that additional conditions be met including:
- (a) That the defendant stay away from the home, school, business, or place of employment of the alleged victim.
- (b) That the defendant refrain from assaulting, beating, molesting or wounding the alleged victim.
- (c) That the defendant refrain from removing, damaging, or injuring specified property.
- (d) That the defendant only be allowed to visit his or her children on terms specified by the judge’s orders.
- (e) That the defendant abstain from the consumption of alcohol.
A judge has up to 48 hours from the period of arrest to delay setting bond to make these determinations. If a judge has not made a determination by the 48th hour, a magistrate shall act under North Carolina law to set bond at that time.
Case Closed Bail Bonds has over 25 years of combined experience arranging bail in Wake (Raleigh), Durham, and Orange County (Chapel Hill), during which we’ve encountered this practice hundreds of times. If there is a warrant for your arrest for Domestic Violence (or a related offense) and you’d like an opinion based on our experience of how the 48-Hour hold period might be applied in your case give us a call @ (919) 624-9301. However, it is important to remember that we do not give legal advice. For legal advice, you will still want to contact an attorney.
