From Around the Web: 20 Awesome Photos of Bail Bonds in LA
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an agreement by a felony defendant to look for trial or pay a sum of money set by the courtroom. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who prices the defendant a fee in return for guaranteeing the cost. The bail bond is a sort of surety bond.
The commercial bail bond system exists only within the United States and the Philippines. In different countries, bail might entail a set of restrictions and circumstances positioned on criminal defendants in return for their launch till 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 typically have large latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen generally charge 10% of the bail quantity up entrance in return for their service and should cost additional fees. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is broadly seen as discriminatory to low-revenue defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of young African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who's charged with a criminal offense is typically given a bail hearing earlier than a decide. The amount of the bail is at the choose's discretion. A decide might deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical level if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or seems prone to be a flight danger.
Judges generally have wide latitude in setting bail quantities, and typical quantities differ by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor could see bail set at $500. Felony crime prices have correspondingly excessive bail, with $20,000 or more not uncommon.
The industrial bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines.
Once the quantity of the bail is ready, the defendant's decisions are to remain Learn here in jail till the fees are resolved at trial, to arrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail amount in full till the case is resolved. In the last occasion, courts in some jurisdictions settle for title to a home or other collateral of worth in lieu of cash.
Bail bondsmen, additionally referred to as bail bond agents, present written agreements to legal courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they guarantee fail to appear on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen typically cost 10% of the bail amount up entrance in return for his or her service and should charge extra fees. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
The agent might also require a press release of creditworthiness or might demand that the defendant turn over collateral within the type of property or securities. Bail bondsmen usually accept most property of worth, including cars, jewellery, and homes as well as shares and bonds.
Once the bail or bail bond is delivered, the defendant is released till 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 males, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is considered by many even within the authorized profession to be discriminatory, because it requires low-revenue defendants to stay in jail or scrape collectively a 10% cash charge and the rest of the bail-in collateral—even earlier than they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 individuals are being held in jails in the U.S. as a result of they can't afford bail or a bail bondsman's companies.
4 states together with Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as an alternative require a 10% deposit on the bail quantity to be lodged with the courtroom. In 2018, California voted to eliminate money bail necessities from its courtroom system.