Ask Me Anything: 10 Answers to Your Questions About Bail Bonds Los Angeles CA
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an settlement by a criminal defendant to appear for trial or pay a sum of cash set by the court. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who prices the defendant a charge in return for guaranteeing the cost. The bail bond is a type of surety bond.
The business bail bond system exists only within the United States and the Philippines. In other international locations, bail might entail a set of restrictions and situations positioned on legal defendants in return for their launch until their trial dates.
Key Takeaways
·A bail bond cosigned by a bail bondsmen is posted by a defendant in lieu of full cost of the bail set by the court.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will seem for trial.
·Judges sometimes have wide latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen generally cost 10% of the bail amount up front in return for his or her service and may cost further charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is extensively considered as discriminatory to low-income defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of younger African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who is charged with against the law is usually given a bail listening to before a choose. The amount of the bail is at the choose's discretion. A judge could deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical degree if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or seems likely to be a flight danger.
Judges usually have huge latitude in setting bail amounts, and typical quantities vary by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor might see bail set at $500. Felony crime charges have correspondingly excessive bail, with $20,000 or extra not uncommon.
The commercial bail bond system exists click here only within the United States and the Philippines.
As soon as the amount of the bail is ready, the defendant's selections are to stay in jail until the charges are resolved at trial, to rearrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail quantity in full till the case is resolved. Within the last instance, courts in some jurisdictions settle for title to a house or different collateral of value in lieu of money.
Bail bondsmen, additionally referred to as bail bond brokers, provide written agreements to prison courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they assure fail to look on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen generally charge 10% of the bail amount up entrance in return for his or her service and should charge additional charges. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the amount charged.
The agent might also require an announcement of creditworthiness or may demand that the defendant flip over collateral in the type of property or securities. Bail bondsmen typically accept most property of worth, together with cars, jewellery, and homes as well as shares and bonds.
Once the bail or bail bond is delivered, the defendant is released until trial.
The Disadvantages of the Bail Bond System
The bail bond system has develop into part of the bigger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of young African-American men, in the U.S.
The bail bond system is considered by many even in the authorized occupation to be discriminatory, as it requires low-income defendants to remain in jail or scrape together a 10% cash charge and the rest of the bail-in collateral—even before they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 individuals are being held in jails within the U.S. because they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman's providers.
Four states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as an alternative require a ten% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the court docket. In 2018, California voted to get rid of money bail requirements from its court docket system.