From Around the Web: 20 Awesome Photos of Bail Bonds in LA
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an settlement by a legal defendant to appear for trial or pay a sum of cash set by the court. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who fees the defendant a fee in return for guaranteeing the fee. The bail bond is a type of surety bond.
The business bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines. In different countries, bail could entail a set of restrictions and conditions positioned on criminal defendants in return for his or her launch until their trial dates.
Key Takeaways
·A bail bond cosigned by a bail bondsmen is posted by a defendant in lieu of full fee of the bail set by the court.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will seem for trial.
·Judges usually have extensive latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen generally cost 10% of the bail amount up entrance in return for his or her service and may charge extra charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is broadly viewed as discriminatory to low-revenue defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of young African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who is charged with a criminal offense is often given a bail hearing earlier than a choose. The amount of the bail is at the choose's discretion. A judge might deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical stage if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or appears more likely to be a flight threat.
Judges generally have vast latitude in setting bail amounts, and typical amounts range by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor could see bail set at $500. Felony crime expenses have correspondingly excessive bail, with $20,000 or extra not uncommon.
The industrial bail bond system exists only within the United States and the Philippines.
Once the quantity of the bail is ready, the defendant's choices are to remain in jail till the costs are resolved at trial, to rearrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail amount in full until the case is resolved. Within the last occasion, courts in some jurisdictions settle for title to a home or other collateral of value in lieu of cash.
Bail bondsmen, additionally called bail bond agents, provide written agreements to felony courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they assure fail to look on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen typically charge 10% of the bail amount up front in return for his or her service and will charge additional fees. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the quantity charged.
The agent can also require a press release of creditworthiness or could demand that the defendant flip over collateral in the form of property or securities. Bail bondsmen usually settle for most property of worth, together with cars, jewelry, and homes in addition to shares and bonds.
As soon as the bail or bail bond is delivered, the defendant is released until trial.
The Disadvantages of the Bail Bond System
The bail bond system has turn into a part of the bigger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of young African-American men, in the U.S.
The bail bond system is considered by many even in the authorized career to be discriminatory, because it requires low-earnings defendants to stay in jail or scrape together a 10% money price and the rest of the bail-in collateral—even before they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 people are being held in jails in the U.S. as a result of they can't afford bail or a bail bondsman's companies.
4 states together with Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as a substitute require a 10% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged Check out here with the court. In 2018, California voted to eliminate cash bail requirements from its courtroom system.