A bond in Colorado is the financial or other security that the court requires a defendant to be placed that guarantees that they will appear before the court. Nearly every case in Colorado before the criminal justice system has a bond or some other bond requirement. In many cases, the bond is set by the court. Some particular charges, as a domestic violence charge or some other very serious crime, the court will set a no-bond hold, which requires you to have to appear before the court the next business day or the next day, depending on when you’re arrested. The bond is many times set by a schedule. It depends on the severity of the crime. In every instance, if it’s a monetary bond that’s posted or is required, you can post with a bondsman or some other surety to be able to guarantee your appearance.
In many instances, the bonds have been set as a personal recognizance bond, which means that you’re allowed to get out of jail and make sure that you come back to court. If for some reason a bond is violated or you fail to appear before the court on the next court date, the court can revoke your bond, which then can be forfeited or reinstated. That may require you to have to post a new bond. In many bond situations, there are bond requirements that require you to have a place to live, stay out of trouble, have employment, no drugs or alcohol, sometimes be monitored by pretrial services or some other probation services in the beginning as a condition of the bond.
