Why most people are better off released
For most people asking whether to stay in jail or bail out, release is the better fit for daily life.
Out of custody, your relative can go back to work, pay the rent and look after children. A few missed shifts can cost some people their job.
Your relative can also work on the defense: meet a lawyer in an office, gather records and help track down witnesses.
In custody, Penal Code 851.5 gives an arrested person at least three completed calls right after booking and, where physically possible, within three hours of arrest.
Those calls can go to a lawyer, a bail agent or a relative. Nobody may monitor, eavesdrop on or record the call to the lawyer, so keep talk about the case for that line.
What days in custody can cost you
Staying in does earn credit. Under Penal Code 2900.5, each day in custody for the same conduct comes off a later jail term, and days can also go toward a base fine at no less than $125 a day.
Most people call this credit time served.
It helps only after a conviction. If prosecutors drop the charges or a jury acquits, those days count against nothing.
Custody can also speed up a misdemeanor case. PC 1382 calls for trial within 30 days of arraignment or plea for a defendant in custody at that point, against 45 days for others, unless the defendant waives time or the court finds good cause.
Your relative’s lawyer may still want more time to prepare.
On a given charge, whether to stay in jail or bail out is a legal call we can’t make for you; a criminal defense lawyer who knows the case can.
Does bail drop the longer you wait?
Many families who ask whether to stay in jail or bail out want to know if bail will drop.
It won’t: the amount holds until a judge changes it.
A judge can revisit the amount at arraignment, which Penal Code 825 requires within 48 hours of arrest, not counting Sundays and holidays, so a Friday-night arrest can mean waiting until Monday or Tuesday.
There, a lawyer can ask for a lower amount, but the judge may keep it.
Before then, PC 825 lets a lawyer visit at the request of the prisoner or any relative.
Families who post bail through a bond skip that wait but pay the premium.
What crimes can you not bail out of?
Very few. Under Penal Code 1270.5, a person charged with a crime punishable by death cannot get bail when the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption of it is great.
Los Angeles County’s 2026 felony bail schedule lists those cases, and a small group of other grave charges, as ineligible for release before arraignment. Murder with special circumstances carries that label.
At the other end, many arrestees in the county don’t face this choice. Under the county’s release protocol, some charges mean going home without posting money. Magistrate Review is different: a magistrate decides, and may hold the person until arraignment.
Our release protocol guide shows which code applies.
What are the risks of bailing someone out?
For the family, the premium is generally non-refundable, even if prosecutors drop the case. Our answer on paying cash or using a bond covers the narrow surrender exceptions.
A cosigner also promises to cover the loss if your relative skips court, as our page on what cosigning commits you to explains.
Anyone you bail out of jail has to make every court date and follow the conditions of release.