If you or a loved one is arrested for any serious crime, there’s a good chance you’ll need to obtain a bail bond to leave jail. Bail bonds operate differently than this, despite what you would picture: you appear before a judge hammering home that your bond is worth a million dollars.
Bail bonds have the potential to lessen a portion of the anxiety linked to this procedure. Bail bonds guarantee defendants’ freedom between court dates by providing the required sum of money, which keeps money in the hands of close friends and family.
What is meant by a Bail Bond?
It is a type of surety.
A bail bond is a surety where a court posts bail, requiring a deposit to disincentivize running. If the bail is not paid, the court keeps the money. The bail is returned if the person attends all hearings and follows the terms.
The bond agent secures funding for the case, usually paying a percentage of the bail amount. The bond agent may sell the collateral if the person fails to appear.
How Does a Bail Bond Work?
- A judge usually holds a bail hearing for someone charged with a crime. The judge has the authority to set the bail amount. If the prisoner faces violent charges or seems likely to pose a flight risk, the judge may completely deny bail or set it at an absurdly high amount.
- Following the determination of the bail amount, the defendant has the following options:
- Stay in jail until the allegations are settled during the trial.
- Set up a bail bond.
- Before the case’s resolution, pay the entire bail money.
- Finally, some jurisdictions’ courts take title to a house or other valuable collateral instead of money.
- Bail bondsmen, sometimes known as bail bond agents, give criminal courts written commitments to pay the entire bail amount if the defendants whose presence they guarantee don’t show up for their scheduled trials.
- Bail bondsmen often demand 10% of the bail sum for their services. They may also impose additional costs. There is an 8% cap on the amount charged in certain states.
- In addition, the agent has the right to demand that the defendant provide a statement of creditworthiness or surrender securities or other property as collateral. Generally, bail bond agents take the most valuable property, such as stocks and bonds, in addition to vehicles, jewelry, and homes.
- The accused is released pending trial upon receipt of the bail or bail bond.
- Judges can set bail with great discretion; the average amount varies depending on the jurisdiction. The bail amount for a defendant facing a nonviolent misdemeanor could be $500. Bail for felonies is typically rather high, often amounting to $20,000 or more.
Example
Melissa, a New York resident, breaks the law and is set bail at $25,000. To avoid jail time, she hired a bail bondsman to post a bond, paid 10% of it, and secured it with collateral. Melissa complies with court requirements, receiving $22,500 in collateral at trial.
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