25 Surprising Facts About Bail Bonds Los Angeles CA
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an agreement by a legal defendant to look for trial or pay a sum of cash set by the court docket. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who fees the defendant a charge in return for guaranteeing the cost. The bail bond is a type of surety bond.
The commercial bail bond system exists only in the United States and the Philippines. In different international locations, bail may entail a set of restrictions and situations placed on felony defendants in return for his or her release till their trial dates.
Key Takeaways
·A bail bond cosigned by a bail bondsmen is posted by a defendant in lieu of full cost of the bail set by the court.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will appear for trial.
·Judges usually have huge latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen usually charge 10% of the bail amount up entrance in return for his or her service and should charge additional charges. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the amount charged.
·The bail system is widely viewed as discriminatory to low-earnings defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of younger African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
A person who's charged with against the law is usually given a bail hearing before a choose. The quantity of the bail is at the judge's discretion. A choose could deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical degree if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or appears likely to be a flight threat.
Judges usually have extensive latitude in setting bail amounts, and typical quantities range by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor might see bail set at $500. Felony crime charges have correspondingly excessive bail, with $20,000 or extra not uncommon.
The commercial bail bond system exists solely within the United States and the Philippines.
Once the amount of the bail is about, the defendant's selections are to stay in jail until the charges are resolved at trial, to rearrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail quantity in full until the case is resolved. In the final occasion, courts in some jurisdictions settle for title to a house or other collateral of worth in lieu of money.
Bail bondsmen, additionally known as bail bond brokers, present written agreements to criminal courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they guarantee fail to seem on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen usually cost 10% of the bail quantity up entrance in return for their service and may cost further fees. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
The agent may additionally require a press release of creditworthiness or may demand that the defendant flip over collateral in the form of property or securities. Bail bondsmen typically settle for most property of worth, including cars, jewelry, and homes in addition to shares and bonds.
Once 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 part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, especially of younger African-American men, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is taken into account by many even in the authorized career to be discriminatory, as it requires low-earnings defendants to stay in jail or scrape together a 10% cash payment and the rest of the bail-in collateral—even before they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 individuals are being held in jails in the U.S. as a result of they can't afford bail or a bail bondsman's providers.
4 states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and instead require a ten% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the court docket. In 2018, California voted to remove cash bail necessities from its courtroom system. Click for more info