Bail bonds
When an offender is arrested, he or she will need to spend time in prison while waiting for a bail hearing. This is a process in which the court is going to establish the amount of bail that serves as an assurance to the court for the temporary liberty of the defendant. But not everybody is able to put up the requested amount of money, and then he or she will need to stay in prison during the trial. However, {it is possible to enlist the services of|you can make use of the services of a bondsman to cover the amount.
We will help you search for reputable bonding companies in Franklin County who will make sure that you or your loved ones can be free, at least until the sentencing.
Why does a judge impose a bail bond ?
The legal system allows the services of a bondsman to post a bail bond, also referred to as surety bond, to help a defendant gain temporary freedom while awaiting their trial.
The judicial system 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 penalize you for your alleged criminal offense. You are still innocent till proven guilty. Having said that, the judge needs to have a guarantee that you will appear in court to face your accuser; thus, the requirement to post bail. If you attend all your scheduled criminal proceedings as required, and you are eventually found not guilty, the bail will be repaid to you. In the case that you are condemned, the bail amount will be used to take care of the fines and penalties that the judge might impose on you. When you miss the court appearances, the bail will be forfeited and you will be subject to getting arrested.
The same reasoning applies with the civil bail bonds. The bail enforced on civil cases works as an assurance or a surety that the accused will have the ability to pay the penalties and fines that the judge may require from the offender after the trial.
How beneficial is a bail bond?
A bonding company is your best opportunity to not spend considerable time in prison if you don't have enough cash available to pay your bail. A bondsman typically asks for a non-refundable rate of 10% of the total bail. That is just fair, taking into account the risk the bail bondsman is taking in putting up the bail bond. In any case, the most important thing is to get you out of jail, and for that you need to find a trustworthy bail bondsman in your area.
A deal with a bonding company is also handy because the latter will facilitate your release from prison, simplifying a complicated legal procedure. You can simply call a bondsman who can provide you a deal and ask you to provide the needed information about yourself, or a person you wish to bail out. When you agree to the contract, you can just sit tight and wait for the bail bondsman to post the bail on your behalf.
Of course you still need to be at your hearing. However, now that you're out on bail, you can appear before a judge in your own clothes. When you had remained in prison because you could not afford to put up bail, you would show up in court in a jail uniform-- and that does not make a good impression. A bondsman allows you to make a respectable appearance in the courtroom, which matters a whole lot because first impressions matter.
Here's how the bail bonds process works
In the event that you get detained and accused of a supposed felony, the first thing that you must do is to contact a attorney and someone, perhaps even the lawyer himself, who can hook you up with a bail agent to begin the bail bonds procedure. You or your representative can work with the bondsman who is going to ask you basic questions such as the accused's name, date of birth, and the location or city where the arrest was made. The bondsman will then give you an arrangement for posting your bail bond. When you agree with the deal, the bail bondsman will handle all the formalities to get you released from jail. With help from the bondsman, you can leave prison and enjoy the company of your family once more.
What info should I have when calling a bonding company?
When contacting a bonding company, ensure you have:
- The full name of the defendant
- The name of the prison the defendant is incarcerated in
- The booking number
- The charges
- Any other relevant info you can think of
Will the bondsman need collateral for their service?
Whether or not a bail bondsman will ask for collateral for posting bail differs between cases, but it is a common practice in the industry. Regarding the sort of collateral that is accepted, the list is just far too long to mention everything. But if a bail bondsman thinks that something is valueable, it can be acceptable as collateral. Listed below are just some examples:
- Real estate or property
- Cars, boats, yachts
- Jewelry or gemstones
- Shares, stocks or equities
- Bank accounts
- TV, appliances or gadgets
- Antiques or art
- Farm equipment
And when available, you can also make use of payment plans provided by a bail bondsman.
When you or a family member run the risk of staying in prison for quite some time because you can't get the bail money, a bondsman is the only course of action that is left. On our site you can search for a bail bondsman in Franklin County. A lot of them are open 24x7.
