Bail bonds
One of the most scary places you can end up in is inside a prison after you have been apprehended and charged with an alleged crime. Things can go wrong even more if you or your loved ones have no immediate money available to post your bail bond, which will allow you temporary freedom. During such a challenging moment, you first have to calm yourself, think clear, and opt for the most effective solution: Call a bail bondsman who can help a lot in getting you released from prison.
You are allowed at least one phone call after your arrest. Use that phone call to contact a family member and ask that person to reach out to a bail bond agent. Your family member could visit our site to find a reputable bail bond agent in Oxford County who can then post the required bail in your place to get you your freedom.
Use a bail bond to gain temporary freedom after an arrest
The legal system allows a bondsman to put up a bail bond, also known as surety bond, to help individuals arrested and charged with a crime get temporarily released from jail while awaiting their court appearance.
The law allows two kinds of bail bond-- a criminal bail bond and a civil bail bond.
To be clear, a judge does not require a criminal bail bond to punish you for your alleged crime. You are still presumed innocent up until proven guilty. Even so, the court needs an assurance that you will appear at trial to face your accuser; hence, the need to post bail. If you show up at all of your scheduled criminal procedures as promised, and you are eventually acquitted, the bail amount will be returned to you. If you are found guilty, the bail will be used to pay for the fines and penalties that the judge might impose on you. When you miss the court appearances, the bail will be lost and you will be subject to getting arrested.
On the contrary, the civil bail bonds imposed on civil cases serve as an assurance or a surety with the court where the financial obligations, claims, and charges imposed on the defendant can be paid from.
How beneficial is a bail bond?
A bondsman is your best opportunity to not spend too much time in prison in case you don't have enough money available to post your bail. A bondsman usually asks for a non-refundable rate of 10% of the bail. That is no more than reasonable, taking into consideration the risk the bondsman is taking in putting up the bond. In any case, the most important thing is to get you out of prison, and for that you need to find a trustworthy bondsman in your city.
A contract with a bail bondsman is also helpful given that they will help with your release from jail, simplifying a complex judicial procedure. You can simply contact a bondsman who can provide you a deal and ask you to give the required info about yourself, or somebody you want to bail out of jail. If you approve the deal, you can simply relax and wait for the bondsman to put up the bail in your place.
Obviously you still need to show up at your court hearing. But now that you're free on bail, you can appear before a judge in civilian clothes. If you had remained in prison because you could not afford to pay bail, you would have turned up in court in a jail jumpsuit -- and that does not make a good impression. A bail bondsman makes it possible for you to make a respectable appearance in court, which really matters a whole lot considering that first impressions matter.
How does the bail bonds process work?
To start the bail bonds procedure, you first need to look for a bonding comany. You can do that in person, over the phone and even online. Given the stringent adherence to professionalism, a bail bondsman will happily walk you through the bail bond process and straighten out any doubts that you might have.
Time is of the essence during this procedure. Once the bail bondsman answered all of your concerns to your complete satisfaction, the bail bondsman will deal with all of the formalities required to get you or your loved one released from prison.
To ensure all goes well, a bail bondsman needs to know the accused's name, birthdate, and the location or city of the arrest. With this information, the agent will have the ability to gather additional details from the jail system required to secure the release. After managing all the procedures, the bail bondsman will visit the jail to get the defendant out.
Utilizing a bondsman to bail out yourself or someone you know is that simple, you can be out of jail and reunited with your loved ones in a few hours.
What your bondsman needs to know about you
After you or your representative get in touch with a bail bondsman, the latter will ask for the folowing information:
- The full name of the defendant
- The name and location of the jail where the defendant is held
- The booking number in the police blotter
- The charges filed against the accused
- Any other important info
What is accepted as collateral?
Almost always, the bonding company requires collateral with the deal. This is understandable, considering the risks that are involved. An inmate is a possible flight risk, and there have been numerous examples where a bondsman needed to employ the services of a bounty hunter to recover the fleeing suspect.
But what is accepted as collateral? Basically, if a bondsman considers something valuable, you are able to use it as collateral for the bond. Listed below are a number of examples:
- Realty
- Automobiles
- Stocks
- Jewelry
- Electronic devices
- Bank accounts
- Visa or mastercard
If you have trouble paying for the bail bond, bail bonds companies have payment plans that you can use. Just speak with the bondsman to figure out what option is the best one when it comes to your situation.
You can use our site to find a bail bondsman that is perfect for your needs. Most of them operate 24/7, ready to help you or your loved one to spend the least amount of time in prison as possible.
