How Do Bail Bonds Work?
Bail bonds might sound like a simple concept, but they are actually quite complex. In this article, we will be going over what a bail is and some basic information on how they work.
What Is Bail?
Bail is essentially the term that is used to describe releasing someone that has been arrested prior to the end of the actual case or hearing. It almost always requires that money be exchanged for early release. The money is meant to act as a buffer or collateral to ensure that the arrestee doesn’t flee and that they end up returning to court. A lot of people will qualify for bail upon being arrested but you can be designated a ‘flight risk’ or the bail can be so significant to minimize the chances of anyone putting it up. At the same time, you can be issued bail from any point when you are arrested up until your court hearing.
How Much Will It Cost?
Bail is set by the state in which the arrest occurred. State laws will ultimately determine the total amount of bail for a respective crime, but it can also dictate whether or not the police can even release a defendant on bail and whether or not they have to do so after a bail hearing. Thus, for some of the more offensive crimes, bail is likely to be significant.
What Determines The Bail Amount Or If One Is Eligible?
1. Flight Risk.
As mentioned previously, if you are designated as a flight risk by the state, you are likely not going to be offered bail or the bail amount is going to be substantial. These are typically those that are facing extremely long sentences or those that have shown a propensity to be a flight risk in the past.
2. Court History.
As mentioned above, if you have a history of not showing up to court, you are much more likely to have a higher amount set forth or even be denied bail altogether.
3. Crime.
The seriousness of the crime itself is another major factor when determining not only how much the bail will be set at, but also whether or not it is accepted or denied.
What Is A Bail Bond?
A bail bond is essentially a type of payment that is provided on the defendant’s behalf by a third party who is a registered and state licensed bail bond agent. These people are those that essentially have a business in paying defendants bonds in exchange for a fee. Thus, the bail bondsman is putting in a significant amount of trust and risk in defendants because they are agreeing to pay the full amount of the bond if the defendant doesn’t end up showing up on their court date for their court hearing.
Thus, they take a specific percentage from those that want to get bailed out of jail and that fee can range depending on the severity of the crime to the total amount of the bond and even factoring in the flight risk of the defendant. Because of this, bail bondsman typically requires a fairly significant asset to be used as collateral in case the defendant doesn’t pay or if they fail to appear in court.
Overall, when you are arrested, bail bonds are one of the ways that you can get out of jail until your court hearing. Therefore, if you ever find yourself in a position where you need a bond to be paid on your behalf, you could potentially consider hiring a bail bondsman in order to pay it off for you to avoid spending the time prior to your hearing in a holding cell.