It is hard enough to face down your own criminal charges, but finding out someone you love has been arrested can be even worse. You may feel totally helpless if you get a call from your wife that she has been arrested and is being held in detention by the police. If you are unfamiliar with the criminal justice system, you may panic and not know what to do to best help your wife with her case. Fortunately, there are experienced Salt Lake City criminal defense attorneys like those at Overson & Bugden who can help guide you through the process and work to resolve your wife’s case as swiftly and positively as possible. Below, our lawyers take you through the steps you should take if you get that dreaded call that your wife has been arrested.
Is It Legal for a Husband to Pay for His Wife’s Attorney in Salt Lake City?
One of the first questions that might come to your mind after learning your wife has been arrested is how to go about getting a quality attorney to represent her. You may wonder if you are allowed to pay for an attorney for your wife so they can get started on her case. You are permitted in Utah to pay for any attorney for anyone else, including your wife. However, what is said between your wife and her attorney in their private conversations will be protected by attorney-client privilege. Even if you are paying for their services, the attorney is not required to disclose this information to you.
How Do I Bail My Wife Out of Jail in Salt Lake City?
The first thing you are going to want to focus on is getting your wife out of criminal detention and back home. In certain cases, for particularly minor infractions or incidents, the police may simply write your wife a summons to appear on her scheduled court date. In this scenario, once booking has been completed, your wife will be released.
Most of the time, however, your wife may be held for up to 48 hours while a bail hearing is scheduled. A bail hearing occurs before a judge. The judge will rule on how much bail money must be posted by your wife or on your wife’s behalf in order for her to be released. This is done in order to incentivize people showing up for their court dates when they are not detained. If your wife fails to show up for court, and you posted bail on her behalf, you will lose the money you posted.
The judge has it within their discretion to decide the amount of bail that is set in each particular situation. For extremely serious felonies, they can choose to not allow for bail and keep your wife detained through her proceedings. Typically, the judge will follow the guidelines set out in the Uniform Bail Schedule. These guidelines list the standard bail for each type of crime, while also factoring in a person’s criminal history. For example, if your wife has previously been convicted of assault, her bail will be higher than if this is her first time being charged with a crime.
However, the judge can choose to ignore these guidelines and set their own bail if they find the situation merits an exception. An experienced bail defense attorney like the team at Overson & Bugden will know what factors the judge considers in making exceptions to standard bail amounts, such as ties to the community, flight risk, and steady employment. They can effectively argue for minimal bail or for your wife to be released without any bail at all. If bail is required and you cannot afford it, our team can put you in contact with a reliable bail bondsman to help you get your wife released.
What Role Will an Attorney Play in the Rest of My Wife’s Criminal Case?
Aside from the bail hearing, if one occurs, the first step in your wife’s case will be her arraignment. An arraignment is where your charges are read to you and you enter a plea of either guilty or not guilty. Our attorneys at Overson & Bugden will most likely advise your wife to plead not guilty at this point. A not guilty plea can be changed to a guilty plea later if desired, and the attorney will need time to collect all the evidence associated with the case.
The attorney will also commence negotiations with the prosecutor in an attempt to work out a plea deal. If this is your wife’s first offense, our attorneys will make the case for your wife to enter a pre-trial diversion program. If she completes the requirements of this program, her charges will be dismissed. If such a program is not a possibility, our lawyers will try to negotiate a deal where the charges are reduced to something lesser in exchange for pleading guilty and giving up her right to a trial.
If the case proceeds to trial, our team has years of experience trying cases of all sorts. We know how to effectively advocate and present the evidence in a light most favorable to your wife. We will mount an aggressive defense on her behalf and fight for a verdict of not guilty.
If You Are Looking to Hire A Criminal Defense Attorney for Your Wife, Call Our Skilled Team Today
At Overson & Bugden, our caring, compassionate attorneys understand that watching a wife go through the criminal process in Utah can be as grueling for you as it is for her. Getting her an experienced criminal defense attorney like those on our team is the best thing you can do to put your mind at ease. We have years of working in the Salt Lake City court system under our belts and we know how to mount an aggressive defense for our clients in and out of the courtroom. If your wife has been arrested, call us today at (801) 758-2287 for a free consultation.
