Bail bonds
When a person is incarcerated and booked for a severe criminal offense, they need to wait in jail up until a bail hearing. It is during this bail hearing that the judge determines the bail amount. If that person can't raise the amount, they have to remain in prison up until their court hearing. But that does not always need to hold true; they can also seek the help of a bondsman.
Unfortunately, most people end up remaining in jail up until their court appearance due to the fact that a lot of do not have a large amount of cash available in the bank.
Our site will help you with bailing out your loved ones by connecting you to credible and cost effective bail bond agents in Franklin County.
Use a bail bond to gain temporary freedom after getting arrested
The judicial system allows a commercial bonding company to post a bail bond, also known as surety bond, to help people apprehended and accused of a criminal offense get temporary freedom while waiting for their court hearing.
The law allows two kinds of bail bond-- a criminal bail bond as well as a civil bail bond.
To make it clear, a court does not impose a criminal bail bond to punish you for your supposed criminal offense. You are still innocent until proven guilty. Nevertheless, the court needs an assurance that you will appear at trial to face your accuser; hence, the requirement to post bail. If you attend all your scheduled criminal proceedings as promised, and you are in the end found not guilty, the bail will be repaid to you. If you are condemned, the bail money will be used to cover the fines and penalties that the court might enforce on you. When you skip the court appearances, the bail will be forfeited and you will be subject to arrest.
However, the civil bail bonds enforced on civil cases function as an assurance or a surety with the court where the financial obligations, interests, and costs enforced on the defendant can be drawn from.
How useful is a bail bond?
A bonding company is your biggest hope to not spend considerable time in jail when you don't have enough money available to pay your bail. A bail bondsman generally requires a non-refundable rate of 10% of the bail. That is just fair, looking at the risk the company is taking in providing the money. In any case, the most important thing is to get you released from prison, and for that have to search for a dependable bondsman in your city.
A contract with a bail bondsman is also handy since the latter can facilitate your release from jail, simplifying a complicated judicial process. You can simply call a bail bondsman who can offer you an agreement and request you to give the necessary information about yourself, or somebody you would like to bail out. In case you approve the agreement, you can just relax and wait for the bonding company to post the bail for you.
Of course you still have to attend your hearing. However, now that you're free on a bond, you can appear before a judge in civilian clothes. If you had remained in prison because you could not post bail, you would appear in court in a jail jumpsuit -- and that's not a pretty sight to see. A bail bondsman makes it possible for you to have a decent appearance in the courtroom, which really matters a lot since first impressions matter.
Here's how the bail bonds process works
In the event that you get arrested and accused of a supposed criminal offense, the very first thing that you should do is to contact a attorney and somebody, possibly even the attorney himself, who can connect you to a bonding company to start the bail bonds procedure. You or your representative can work with the bail bondsman who will ask you common questions like the accused's name, birthdate, and the location or city where the arrest was made. The bail bondsman will then give you a deal for putting up your bail . Upon your approval of the deal, the bondsman will take care of all the formalities to secure your release. With help from the bondsman, you can walk out of jail and enjoy the company of your loved ones once more.
Going to meet with a bail bondsman?
You should have have the following information handy when speaking to the bondsman:
- The offender's name
- The jail, city, and county where the accused is committed
- The suspect's booking number
- The charges the defendant is facing
- The amount of money of the bail bond
What is accepted as collateral?
In most cases, the bail bondsman will require collateral with the deal. This is reasonable taking into account the risks that are involved. An inmate is a possible flight risk, and there have been countless examples where a bail bondsman needed to hire a bounty hunter to bring back the fleeing defendant.
But what is acceptable as collateral? In a nut-shell, if a bail bondsman considers an asset valuable, you are able to use it as collateral for the bond. Below are a couple of examples:
- Realty
- Autos
- Shares
- Jewelry
- Electronics
- Bank accounts
- Visa or mastercard
If you find that the bond is too expensive, bonding companies often offer payment plans that you can use. Simply speak with the bail bondsman to determine which option is the best one when it comes to your situation.
Use our website to search for a bondsman that will be perfect for your needs. Most of them are open 24/7, ready to help you or a family member to spend the as little time as possible in jail.
