Bail bonds
In its essence, a bail bond is a sort of guarantee that you will attend the hearing at the specified date. In return, you will be allowed to walk free despite the fact that you are still awaiting trial for a criminal or civil charge. Alternatively, you will stay jail while waiting on the court to decide on a verdict. A bondsman can put up bail for you and get you released from prison.
Depending upon the charge, the amount of bail can be high. Very few defendants have the ability to post the bail. There's a reason why the penal system is overburdened. But there's a legal manner in which to earn your temporary release from prison even if your lawsuit is still in progress. With our website you can locate a trusted bonding company in Franklin County.
Why does a judge impose a bail bond ?
The law permits the services of a bail bondsman to post a bail bond, also known as surety bond, to help a defendant gain temporary liberty while awaiting their court appearance.
The law allows two kinds of bail -- a criminal bail bond as well as a civil bail bond.
To be clear, a judge does not require a criminal bail bond to punish you for your supposed criminal offense. You are still presumed innocent up until proven guilty. However, the judge needs a guarantee that you will show up at trial to face your accuser; thus, the need to post bail. If you attend all your arranged 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 amount will be used to take care of the fines and penalties that the judge might enforce on you. If you miss the court hearings, your bail will be lost and you will be subject to arrest.
The same reasoning holds with civil bail bonds. The bail imposed on civil cases serves as an assurance or a surety that the defendant will have the ability to pay the penalties and fines that the judge can require from the accused after the trial.
How beneficial is a bail bond?
A bail bondsman is your best opportunity to not spend too much time in prison in case you don't have enough cash available to post your bail. A bondsman generally requires a non-refundable rate of 10% of the bail. That is just reasonable, taking into consideration the risk the bonding company is taking in providing the money. In any case, the most important thing is to get you released from prison, and for that to happen need to search for a dependable bail bondsman in your local area.
A deal with a bail bondsman is also handy because they can facilitate your release from jail, simplifying a complicated legal process. You can just call a bail agent who can provide you an agreement and ask you to provide the relevant info about yourself, or somebody you intend to bail out of prison. If you agree to the agreement, you can simply sit tight and wait for the bonding company to put up the bail in your place.
Obviously you still need to attend your court hearing. However, now that you're free on bail, you can appear in court in civilian clothes. If you had remained in jail for failure to post bail, you would show up in court in a jail jumpsuit -- and that's not a pretty sight to see. A bail bondsman makes it possible for you to make a respectable appearance in court, which really matters a lot given that first impressions matter.
Here's how the bail bonds process works
In the event that you get detained and charged with an alleged criminal offense, the first thing that you need to do is to contact a attorney and somebody, possibly even the lawyer himself, that can get you in touch with a bonding company to begin the bail bonds process. You or your representative can deal with the bondsman who is going to ask you standard questions such as the suspect's name, birthdate, and the place or city of the arrest. The bondsman will then give you a deal for putting up your bail . Upon your approval of the agreement, the bail bondsman will handle all the formalities to secure your release. With the aid of the bondsman, you can get out of jail and enjoy the company of your family once more.
Information your bondsman needs to know
If you speak with a bonding company, you need to provide these details:
- Your name if you are the suspect
- The name and location of the jail where the suspect is detained
- The booking number in the police blotter
- The complaints filed against the accused
- Any other relevant information
What is accepted as collateral?
Almost always, the bonding company will require collateral with the deal. This is understandable, taking into account the risks that are involved. An inmate is a flight risk, and there have been countless examples where a bail bondsman had to hire a bounty hunter to recover the fleeing suspect.
But what is acceptable as collateral? Essentially, when a bondsman considers something valuable, you are able to use it as a guarantee for the bond. Below are a number of examples:
- Real estate
- Cars
- Shares
- Jewelry
- Electronics
- Bank accounts
- Visa or mastercard
If you can't afford the bail bond right now, bonding companies often offer payment plans that you can use. Just speak with the bail bondsman to figure out which option is best suited for your circumstances.
Use this site to look for a bail bondsman that is perfect for you. Most of them are open 24/7, ready to help you or a friend to spend the as little time as possible in prison.
