What Are Bail Bonds?
A bail bond is needed to make sure that a person who is arrested shows up in court. Bail is an amount of money that a person who is arrested needs to provide for his release; however there are circumstances that require an arrested person to appear in court for future hearings.
Bail bonds are usually issued by a bail bondsman or a company that offers legal help. Usually the bail process goes this way:
- A person is arrested and is brought to jail. He is allowed to call anyone who can help him with his release by posting bail (if his offense is a bailable offense).
- The person arrested spends time in jail until a family or a friend comes up with bail. Booking is done along with getting important information, prints, photographs and important searches
- The family contacts a bail bondsman who determines the amount by confirming it directly from the court or the judge. A bail bondsman will also try to assess risks that affects the amount of the bail like the number of times a person is caught or convicted, the severity of the situation and of course any collateral that can reduce the risk of the bail.
- The bail bonds agent will post bail through bail bonds and get all information on when and where his client is expected to return to court.
- The arrested person is released from jail but told to appear in court on the specified time.
So considering time that an arrested person spends in prison, it is very important that family and friends to come up with efficient bail bonds help right away. Usually , it would take several hours to a day before all the bond details are complete especially when a person is detained in a small precint or jail, it make take time to update information and to get important bail info as soon as possible.
Types Of Bail Bonds
Bail bonds on the other hand may differ in amount and type considering so many factors in the arrest. As mentioned, the more likely an arrested person is to avoid future court hearings, the more likely bail is set in a higher in amount. There are even circumstances when the crime is less severe as to only ask the defendant to sign a waiver to appear in court. And if there are cheap bonds, there are also expensive bonds known as property bonds wherein a piece of property like land, home or vehicle replaces monetary bonds. These are for defendants that do not have the amount of money requested by the court. This type of bond may also be for serious offenses as well as recurring violations.
Arranging for your friend or loved one’s bail is the best help that you can give to someone in trouble with the law. Remember to always keep calm and maintain an open mind so you can make expert and practical decisions when you need to.
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