What is a County Jail for, and What is it Like?
After you are arrested, you are taken to the police station for booking, where the police will take your mug shot, get you finger-prints, get your personal information, and confine you to a holding cell at a police station or county jail before being placed in an ordinary cell. A bond will be set, but at the initial bond setting, you usually have no ability to contest the amount of the bond. (You will have that ability later.) The police may continue and try to question you. But you may be wondering: Why are you placed in a county jail and not a state prison? What is a county jail for, and what is it like?
County jails usually do not keep serious felons after they have been convicted or entered their guilty pleas. Instead, jails typically house people who have been arrested recently, are waiting for their trials to start, and are serving short-term sentences, ordinarily misdemeanors. Many were arrested for driving while drunk or high, using or selling small quantities of drugs, minor assaults, and other less serious crimes. Conversely, state and federal prisons house serious criminals and convicted felons.
Hollywood’s portrayal of jail is hardly accurate, and the so-called reality TV cop and legal shows often glamorize it. Here are some facts about jail to dispel the myths:
While in jail, you are allowed more than one phone call. In fact, you are allowed a reasonable number of phone calls needed to post bond. Thus, if you are charged with a felony, a phone is probably accessible to you. Nevertheless, you are often required to pay for them or have the caller accept a collect call.
Perry A. Craft has dedicated his life to helping people in need. He has tried, settled, or resolved numerous civil and criminal cases in State and Federal courts, and has represented teachers and administrators before school boards, administrative judges, and the state Board of Education. Learn more about Attorney Craft.