Bail Bond Agent Blog

Bail is a basic assurance that an accused criminal (a defendant) will show up to court to stand trial for a crime that he or she is accused of committing. When a person is arrested as a suspect in a crime, the person is booked and put into jail to await trial. In many situations, that person may be allowed to post a bail bond, which assures that he or she will return to court. However, there are situations where a person is accused of a violent crime, has a criminal history, or is considered to be a flight risk, in which a judge may not grant bail.

If a judge does, however, grant bail, the amount of the bail will vary based on the locality and based on a variety of circumstances. In many cases, a defendant will call upon a bail bonding agency for help meeting bail. The bail bonding agency will supply the bail for the defendant to be released. The bonding agency is then responsible for ensuring that the individual shows up in court for his or her trial.

Bonding agencies get reimbursed by the defendant in cash, using loans from the defendant’s family and friends, and by taking advantage of the defendant’s collateral. Generally, the bonding agency requires a 10% cash payment in order to post bail. For example, if a defendant has a $10,000 bail, then the defendant may have to pay the bonding agency $1,000 in cash.

If the defendant doesn’t have this much money in cash, he may borrow money from family and friends. The bonding agency will then review the assets of the defendant (and possibly of the defendant’s supporters as well). The agency may take out a mortgage on the defendant’s house, for example, so that if the defendant fails to show up for court, the agency can acquire its portion of the assets.

To recap: the general purpose of bail is to offer the court some sort of guarantee that the defendant will return to court to stand trial. It is to give a defendant and a defendants cosigner the financial incentive to make sure the defendant appears for their court case.

Tags: Bail Bonds //