Whether it's to get away for a short vacation or to spend time with family for holidays, a lot of people travel. For many people, their family is close by, but for some, they may be in other states. So it's not unusual to have clients ask if they can travel out of town, or out of state, while their case is pending.
Can you travel while your case is pending? The answer is, it depends - big surprise right? Most felony bonds in McLennan County have conditions - one of them may be that you do not travel out of the county. If your bond has that condition then you have to get the permission of the judge - in writing - to travel. Most judges will provide that for special situations, but you have to ask.
Misdemeanor bonds on the other hand generally do not have similar conditions. Unless it's a DWI case or assault case, you may not have any conditions on your bond. That doesn't mean it's alright to go wherever you want. If you used a bonding company, you signed an agreement with them; unless you want to go back to jail you need to make sure you honor it. Most bonding companies want to know if you are going somewhere so they know where to find you if they need you. That means you need to check with them and make sure they are okay with your trip.
We've had clients whose job requires them to travel. That's generally not a problem, but it does need to be approved by the judge - if necessary - and the bonding company.
The bottom line is that before you pick up and leave, you need to make sure it's alright to do so. If not, it may be the last trip you get to make for a while.