In most cases, family members or close friends call bail bondsmans service for the early release of the defendant. In this document, an amount of money is mentioned which is mutually agreed by the judge and the bond broker. For giving his or her services to the defendant, a bail bondsman gets 10% of the total bail amount. This legal document is paid in full and guarantees that the defendant will be present in a court as and when summoned.

Usually, the amount of bond money varies at a great extent. It is mainly depended on the degree of the criminal charges against the defendants and his or her past records. If the charges are of high degree, a defendant may have to sign a collateral for security with the bond broker. A collateral is signed in case if a defendant skips out the bond. Thus, it is very important to sign if the charges against are serious.

You can contact any bail bond agency and hire an experienced and skilled person who can help you to get instant relief. Bail bondsmen are expert people who can take care of your legal issues irrespective of the degree of charges against you.

Although law enforcement personnel are not permitted to give you a specific recommendation, they are able to guide you through the process of locating a licensed, legitimate bonding company. Often, there will be an office on the premises of the police station, in which case you can rest assured that you are dealing with a trustworthy legal entity. If you have any doubts as to the legitimacy of the bondsman, ask to see his license or check out his particulars on-line to verify that he does have the required qualifications, which include a mandatory state license.

Anyone who has ever watched a legal or police procedural television show has at least a perfunctory knowledge of bail, but not everyone knows exactly what it means. Briefly, a bail or surety bond is a sum of money posted by a police detainee which is designed to ensure the appearance of the defendant at his trial. Often, minor infractions incur a predetermined amount that can be paid on the spot at the time of arrest. Greater offenses, however, require a hearing during which a judge decides the amount of surety necessary.

It should be noted that a surety bond is not meant as a punitive measure, but rather as a financial incentive to keep a suspected miscreant from fleeing, while still allowing him the freedom to go about his business while awaiting trial. This opportunity is provided because everyone is innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of the law.

Bail is granted in virtually all civil cases and in a large percent of criminal cases, as well. Only when the offender is accused of homicide or other heinous felony, presents a serious flight risk or appears to be a danger to the community will bail be denied. The amount set by the judge is decided on a case-to-case basis and is often a subject of argument between the prosecutor and the defense attorney. Generally speaking, the greater the crime, the greater the amount required to release the defendant. Depending on circumstances, the amount can range from less than a few hundred dollars to seven figures in high profile cases.

Four states have banned commercial surety bonding (Oregon, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin). These states have a state-run program that generally requires you to pay ten percent of the bail amount. In all other states, expect to pay a commercial bail bondsman ten to fifteen percent of the total amount. For example, if the amount is set at $10,000, you will need to provide $1000 to $1500 to secure the release of the prisoner. This portion of the money is a non-refundable fee charged by the bonding company; the balance is returned to them after the trial begins.

Until that time, the defendant will be placed in your custody and may proceed with his normal activities until the trial date. One word of caution: if the defendant skips town, you will be responsible for the entire amount, so it’s in your best interests to see that he shows up.

These legal documents are simple to understand and you can simply understand how they are drafted. Unfortunately, many people do not understand the logic behind it and they may have to suffer when they fall under a trap and only a bail bond can save them from getting arrested and serving in the prison.

How It Works

When a person is arrested, only a judge will decide the future of the accused after he has been brought for a bail hearing. The bail amount will vary on the basis of the level of the criminal activity. Depending on the seriousness of the criminal offense, even the accused may have to pay millions of dollars to seek anticipatory bail from a court. Once the amount has been decided, the defendant can approach his family member or friends to arrange the amount and hire an experienced bail bondsman to get the work done as per the law. The bondsman will charge 10% deposit (for federal case) in advance and after the settlement, he may ask for the collateral to cover the risk they are undertaking. Collateral can be used if the defendant fails skips out the bail given to him.

It’s likely you have heard the term ‘bounty hunter’ and are somewhat familiar with who they are. A bounty hunter is the person hired by the bondsman to physically track down a person who has fled or failed to appear in court. Bonds companies will pay bounty hunters to find these people because they have posted this money for their release and will not get that money back until the person is returned to jail, or appears in court.

Bondsmen provide almost instant freedom to an inmate upon signing of a contract by a co-signer, then sometimes the actual inmate, declaring they will appear in court and they will pay the bondman’s fee. Most often, the company’s fee is due at the time of the inmate’s release. Normally, the fees are around 10% of the stated amount of bail, which is far easier for most people to afford than the entire amount necessary to be released, which is $1,000 for the least of charges to several hundred thousand for more serious crimes. This is why bondsmen are so important. Without them, a significantly larger number of people would have to stay in jail until their court date, sometimes a month or more from the date of the arrest. This applies to non-violent and traffic offenders as well.

Bondsmen are essential to those who have been put in jail for lesser crimes because having their help to be released means they can return to work and to their families instead of having to be incarcerated for weeks. Additionally, each state’s Department of Corrections saves taxpayer funds on inmate care when many can be released in the interim period.

Now that you understand the role a bondsman plays, you will be better able to protect yourself and loved ones in the event of any brushes with the law. For additional information on how bail bonds companies can help you during hard times, call your local bondsman or perform a search online for the companies in your area.

A surety bond is the process by which the accused can “buy their way out of jail” with the knowledge that if he/she does not appear at the arranged hearing, all funds used to buy the release will be forfeited. Basically, our legal system has created what they consider a financial guarantee that the defendant will appear in court on the required date.

Bail is granted to most people arrested for non-capital crimes and occasionally for those facing capital crimes. The current system is similar to what evolved in England during the Middle Ages. The early settlers brought the same program to America, officially instituting it with the Bill of Rights and additional legislative acts. The Sixth Amendment grants the right of habeas corpus, in which a person has the right to know the crime for which they are being arrested. This is a key issue for the system. A person would only be able to request their release if they were aware of their crime and if it was on the list. The Eighth Amendment prohibits demands for excessive bail. The only major change to security laws occurred in 1966 with the Bail Reform Act. This act allowed judges to determine if a person could be released on their own recognizance, or whether a financial guarantee had to be imposed, while awaiting trial. Non-capital crimes were the focus of the act, but capital crimes were also included in certain situations.

The provisions are highly dependent on the nature of the crime committed. Of course, there are other considerations as well; for example, those accused of capital crimes are often considered too great a risk to the security of the community, so these people are kept in jail at least until the first hearing. The definition of a capital crime varies from state to state, but is usually a crime that is punishable by the death penalty. Common examples of a capital crime include first-degree murder, murder with special circumstances, rape and federal treason.

In addition to the type of crime, the circumstances surrounding the crime, such as the age of the victim and the perceived dangerousness of the defendant, also play a role in determining release or bail amounts. If the accused is deemed to be a very high flight risk, bail may also be denied or set extremely high.

Bail amounts are not uniform, but do tend to fall into a typical range for the type of crime committed. Of course, all those other considerations come into play, such as the victim’s age, the amount of physical violence, etc.

The legal system in America clearly states that a person is innocent until proven guilty. That innocence entitles them to retain basic freedoms until they are proven guilty in a court of law. Bonds are just a part of the way the legal system and individual rights are upheld in the United States.

When someone is arrested and booked into a county jail or a local police department jail, the charge or charges are formalized and bail is set. In most counties, the Presiding Judge in concert with other judges annually review and adjust the bail amount for each offense specified by statute other than capital offenses. By creating and maintaining a “”bail schedule”", judges are not needed to set bail for each arrest. This is helpful, especially after hours and on weekends, to quickly set an arrestee’s bail so they can bail out. Once bail is posted, the arrestee is released with a court date to appear and a financial reason to appear. In the case of an arrestee buying and posting a bail bond, the financial reason goes to the bondsman to ensure that the arrestee appears in court when ordered to do so.

The newcomer, Pretrial Release, in effect does away with bail. How Pretrial Release works is that there are government workers on duty 24 hours a day in a county. They may be located at the county jail or at a separate government office complex. When an arrestee is booked into jail, the Pretrial Release government workers review the file. They are supposed to look into the person’s prior criminal record, local family ties, employment, etc. The goal is to determine if the arrestee is not a “”flight risk”" and to authorize the arrestee’s release on his or her own recognizance. That simply means the arrestee’s promise to appear. There is no financial incentive (neither cash bail nor a bail bond) for the arrestee to appear. Of course, the government union worker at Pretrial Release is not held accountable for the appearance either.

The most often given reason for the existence of Pretrial Release is to help reduce jail overcrowding. However, at what cost? The failure to appear rate is higher for Pretrial Release than for those released on bail (cash and bail bond). Also, consider this: arrestees released on bail (cash or bail bond) costs the county nothing. It is essentially a user paid system that includes an incentive to appear in court. Pretrial Release costs the taxpayers and has virtually no incentive for the arrestee to appear. In all cases the Pretrial Release staff are government workers and in most cases, government union workers. Their pay and benefits add up on the taxpayer’s tab. The money freed up by doing away with the cost of Pretrial Release would be better served in supporting the jail law enforcement staff and even used to add jail capacity if needed.

Another problem with Pretrial Release is the effect it has on due process. In addition to a mere promise to appear, many arrestee’s are required to take drugs tests and/or attend counseling with all this being done before trial. What about the concept of innocent until proven guilty? In effect, the conditions imposed by Pretrial Release are tantamount to pretrial probation which violates due process.

Over the past 20+ years Pretrial Release has spread throughout the country. Laudable reasons are given by politicians and advocates but the underlying truth is that government worker unions like to grow. Now you know the “”dirty little secret”". Please remember, Bail is user paid and Pretrial Release is taxpayer paid.

The records check includes taking livescan fingerprints and then electronically sending them to the Department of Justice. Daily, the Department of Justice shuts down for maintenance from 2AM to 4AM. Sometimes the electronic system goes down and defendants who have arranged for and are attempting to have their bail posted, simply are left to sit for hours and even days until the system comes back on line. Also, many jails like the Long Beach Police Department do not assign a technician on every shift to process the records checks. Prolonged system outages and not staffing a technician are certainly a denial of due process which can result in a prisoner being held many hours or even days beyond the point when the posting of bail should have been accepted. Where is the ACLU when you need them? After bail is posted, the defendant is released from custody and will remain free while the court case proceeds. Bail is posted to insure that the defendant will appear in court each and every time he or she is ordered to appear. Bail provides a financial incentive for the defendant to appear. A”"bail bond”" is an insurance bond and all bondsmen represent insurance companies. Before posting a bail bond, the bail bondsman must get approval from their insurance Underwriter. The Underwriter generally requires two things in order to approve a bail bond. They are called the “”Premium”" and the “”Collateral”". The Premium is the cost of the bond and is 10% of the bail amount that was set by the jail or court. Collateral is something of value used to financially guarantee the bond until the defendant is done in court. The person that pledges the Collateral is called the Indemnitor or co-signer. No matter what the outcome of the court case (acquittal, conviction, diversion, probation and/or fine), once the defendant is done with all court appearances, the court will exonerate (release) the bond. When the court “”exonerates”" the bond, the bail bond is done and the Collateral is released back to the Indemnitor. Any fine, probation, public service, counseling, testing, etc. is strictly between the defendant and the court from that point forward.

A bail bonds company and their bail bondsmen must be fully licensed by the state in which they operate. For example, someone selling Las Vegas bail bonds should be licensed as a bail bondsman by the state of Nevada.

Experience is a critical factor in how well a bail bondsman executes their job. Only by experience posting bail bonds in the local jails and courts can a bail bondsman learn the important processes and time saving techniques to speed up a defendant’s release. Developing an understanding of each facility’s protocol is essential to offering quality service.

Flexibility is an important part of any bail bonds service. Although bail bondsmen must charge the same fees, they can provide much different payment plans. For example, some bail bondsmen provide credit card payments, no collateral bonds and sometimes financing. It is a good sign when a bail bondsman takes the time to understand a client’s financial position and then provides a solution that fits their needs.

The Accessibility of a bail bondsman is hugely important. A bail bondsman should be accessible when you or your loved ones need them. This not only applies to posting the bail bond, but also after the defendant is released. There are many times when the bail bondsman is needed during the criminal trial proceedings. Will yours be there when you need him or her?

There are a number of factors that differentiate good bail bonds companies from bad ones. It is important to understand how each bail bondsman is different and which one is going to be the best fit for your needs.

When someone is arrested, they may be eligible for bail. Bail is set during a bail hearing by a judge or justice of the peace. Bail is money paid to the court to secure a defendants release. Once bail is posted, the defendant is freed from jail but is still obligated to appear at all scheduled court appointments. If they fail to do so, the bail money may be kept by the court. Once the criminal proceedings are finished and regardless of outcome, if the defendant has appeared before the court as ordered the bail money will be returned. The bail money merely acts an incentive and collateral to ensure the accused appear as ordered by the court.

In some cases, defendants can not or do not want to post the entire bail amount themselves. Bail bondsmen are available to assist defendants in this situation. They will put forth a bail bond on behalf of an accused. However, the bail bond is not the entire bail amount. It is a smaller amount that promises to the court the full bail amount if the defendant does not appear as ordered. If the defendant does appear as scheduled, the bail bond will be returned to the bail bondsman.

The purpose of bail is really two fold. Primarily, it allows an innocent person to avoid needlessly being incarcerated while awaiting their trial. Additionally, bail gives the defendant time and freedom to prepare their defense.

The judicial system relies on bail as an important piece of the puzzle. As such, bail bondsmen are a vital element in ensuring the system works properly.