What is Bail Bond
There are mostly three outcomes when someone is released: the person is set free, the person is charged and released on bail, or the person is charged and stays in prison till the end of the case. The second option involves paying bail. Paying bail to be released from jail seems simple from the outside. Taking a closer look at it, there is a lot that goes on during the process. To understand what bail bond is all about, it will be great to know what bail means.
A bail is a particular amount of money that is paid by the accused individual or defendant. This money is paid to guarantee the defendant’s appearance in court. The bail amount is usually high. Only the rich and comfortable individuals have the connections to pay such amounts without any discomfort. Middle-class or poor individuals mostly don’t meet the bail condition set by court. This is where the bail bond comes into play.
Most defendants who want to meet the bail condition and are not incapacitated financially to pay the amount of money, turn to look for alternatives. The alternative available for them is to ask for assistance from a bail bondsman. The bail bondsman is an agent that is experienced in this field, ready and able (financially) to pay the amount of money requested by the court as bail.
Bail Bond Process
The defendant is first arrested by the law enforcement agency after the accused is suspected of committing a crime. The person is then booked and transferred to the appropriate criminal process facility. After the defendant is sent to a criminal process facility, they are charged to court. The court can then decide to grant the defendant bail.
In essence, a bail bond is an agreement between a bond company through their agent and the defendant that needs to pay his bail. The agent will follow all the legal process to make sure the defendant is released from jail.
Types of bail bond
There are two types of bail bond, the criminal bail bond and the civil bail bond.
Criminal bail bond: The criminal bail bond is used in criminal cases, this will guarantee that the defendant will appear in court for trial and will be ready to take any punishment or payment imposed on him.
Civil bail bond: The civil bail bond is used in civil cases that are not in any way related to criminal cases.
How Does It Work?
When a person is charged to court, the judge can set a bail condition that will ascertain the defendant’s freedom while the case is still on. If it turns out that the defendant can’t pay for bail, the bail bondsman can come into the picture to make bail bond agreement.
Before the bail bond can be implemented, the defendant is expected to pay the bail bondsman 10% of the bail amount as collateral. The rest of the bail is paid by the agent.
What will occur next will depend on how the defendant responds to the court after he or she has been released. Here are the options:
Defendant Does Not Appeal in Court: If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bond is forfeited. The court will tell the bail bondsman to pay 90% of the bail. The bail bondsman will use the defendant’s assets which were put forward as collateral to pay the bail. The collateral might be the defendant’s house, accessories, jewelries, etc.
Defendant Appear in Court: If the defendant appears in court, at the end of the court case, the bond is settled. The bail is returned to the bond agent. The agent keeps the 10% collateral paid earlier as his profit.
Conclusion
It is important to note that not all accused persons are given bail. For instance, if a court finds a person dangerous to the public, such a person might not be granted bail.
The bail process is a long process (understand more here: www.lawyer-monthly.com/2021/02/3-benefits-of-using-a-bail-bond-service/) that involves payment of an amount of money for a defendant to be released from jail while trial is going on. Bail bonds help those that are incapable of paying. Trials can take weeks or months before it ends. Keeping someone that might be guilty in prison for that long while trial is on seems harsh, that’s why bail is given to defendants in court.