At 888bailbond.com, families often ask us why bail has been set at a certain rate.

One family recently called us after their daughter and son-in-law had been arrested. His bail was much higher than hers, and her dad asked if this had anything to do with her being a mom.

Although there are a number of factors a judge will look at when they set a defendant's bail, the defendant's gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and/or whether they are a parent are not among them.

The 5 most common things a judge will consider before setting bail

• Is this person a risk to public safety?  A defendant who has been charged with a relatively minor offense, such as public intoxication, will be granted a much lower bail amount than someone who has been booked for armed robbery.

• Does the defendant have a prior criminal record?  The judicial system frowns upon repeat offenders, and that's often evident when bail is set.  A defendant who has been arrested multiple times on the same charge will have a much higher bail than a first-time offender.

• Is this person a flight risk? If the defendant has lived in the area for a long time, has a steady job, owns a home and has a family, their bail likely be far lower than someone was arrested for the same crime but is unemployed, couch surfing, and doesn't have any real ties to the community.

• Does the defendant have a history of not showing up for court?  If the defendant has a prior history of arrest, but doesn't have a history of handling their legal obligations, bail is likely to be set very high or in some cases, denied altogether.

•  The county bail schedule  Every county has a document called a bail schedule and this document provides guidelines in terms of which bail amounts go with different charges.  At the same time, this document is a guideline only- sometimes judges stick with it, sometimes they don't.  It's all at their individual discretion.