The Advanced Guide to Bail Bonds Los Angeles county
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an settlement by a criminal defendant to appear for trial or pay a sum of money set by the court docket. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who prices the defendant a price in return for guaranteeing the fee. The bail bond is a sort of surety bond.
The business bail bond system exists only in the United States and the Philippines. In other countries, bail could entail a set of restrictions and situations positioned on legal defendants in return for their release until their trial dates.
Key Takeaways
·A bail bond cosigned by a bail bondsmen is posted by a defendant in lieu of full fee of the bail set by the court docket.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will seem for trial.
·Judges sometimes have extensive latitude in setting bail amounts.
·Bail bondsmen generally cost 10% of the bail quantity up entrance in return for their service and may charge extra charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the amount charged.
·The bail system is extensively considered as discriminatory to low-earnings defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of younger African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
A person who is charged with against the law is often given a bail listening to before a judge. The quantity of the bail is on the decide's discretion. A judge may deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical stage if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or seems more likely to be a flight risk.
Judges generally have huge latitude in setting bail quantities, and typical quantities differ by jurisdiction. A Helpful resources 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 commercial bail bond system exists solely within the United States and the Philippines.
Once the amount of the bail is ready, the defendant's decisions are to remain in jail until the costs are resolved at trial, to rearrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail amount in full until the case is resolved. Within the final instance, courts in some jurisdictions accept title to a house or different collateral of value in lieu of money.
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 front in return for his or her service and should charge extra charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the amount charged.
The agent may also require an announcement 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.
As soon as 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 grow to be part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of young African-American men, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is taken into account by many even in the authorized career to be discriminatory, as it requires low-earnings defendants to remain in jail or scrape together a ten% money fee and the remainder of the bail-in collateral—even earlier than they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 people are being held in jails within the U.S. as a result of they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman's companies.
4 states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as a substitute require a ten% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the court docket. In 2018, California voted to remove cash bail necessities from its courtroom system.