If you watch a lot of television, you are probably familiar with the concepts of bail and bail bonds. There may even come a point in time where you find that you are in need of these types of services and it would be incredibly beneficial to discover what the process of bail bonds entail in case you need them. One thing to remember about bail is that it is not about whether or not you have actually committed the crime but if you are a risk to the community or to not show up for your court date.
Bail is some collateral, whether it is some type of property or money, in order to release the defendant from jail and make sure that they appear for their court date. If you are bailed out and still end up failing to appear on the date that you are supposed to, the bail is then forfeited and may even face a charge for failing to appear. Often times, bail is then returned once the trail has ended as long as the defendant has appeared to all of their court dates. You should be aware that in some states, there is a processing fee that gets deducted from your refund.
For the most part, bail is often offered to defendants who are awaiting trial. However, there are some reasons that bail may not be offered. One reason is if there is reason to believe that the defendant is a flight risk and will not return for their trial. Another reason for refusing bail is if the judge finds that the defendant poses a potential safety threat to the community. It is also quite unlikely that bail would be considered in situations where capital punishment is on the table for the crime.
You may find that you cannot afford the entire bail amount. For these situations, you may get a bail bond. A bail bond is an option where a person will see a bail bondsperson and pay a specific amount towards their bail, usually around 10%. The bail bondsperson will then front the rest of the money. This money is not usually refundable as they consider this their compensation for services. If you do not appear at court after a bail bondsperson paid the bail, the law gives them the right to hire a bounty hunter in order to get their money back. However in some states, bounty hunting is illegal. They will also take out a security against some property to ensure that they do not lose money on this deal. They can also sue you if you do not appear in order to help recoup their losses.
Bail bonds can be a messy business to get involved in. There are a lot of different considerations when discussing if a defendant is eligible to be released on bail or their own recognizance. If you are not able to be released on your own recognizance, you will need to inquire about your bail bond options.