The Next Big Thing in Bail Bondsman in Los Angeles
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an agreement 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 cost. The bail bond is a type of surety bond.
The business bail bond system exists only within the United States and the Philippines. In other nations, bail could entail a set of restrictions and circumstances 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 appear for trial.
·Judges usually have extensive latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen generally cost 10% of the bail quantity up front in return for his or her service and will charge extra fees. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is widely seen as discriminatory to low-earnings defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of young African-American males.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who is charged with a criminal offense is often given a bail hearing before a decide. The quantity of the bail is at the decide's discretion. A choose may deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical degree if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or seems prone to be a flight risk.
Judges usually have huge latitude in setting bail amounts, and typical amounts fluctuate 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 more not uncommon.
The business bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines.
Once the quantity of the bail is ready, the defendant's choices are to remain in jail until 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 final instance, courts in some jurisdictions accept title to a house or different collateral of worth in lieu of cash.
Bail bondsmen, also referred to 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 typically charge 10% of the bail amount up front in return for his or her service and will cost additional fees. Some states have put a cap Look at this website of 8% on the quantity charged.
The agent can also require a press release of creditworthiness or might demand that the defendant flip over collateral within the form of property or securities. Bail bondsmen generally settle for most property of worth, together with vehicles, jewelry, and houses as well as stocks and bonds.
As soon as the bail or bail bond is delivered, the defendant is launched till trial.
The Disadvantages of the Bail Bond System
The bail bond system has turn out to be part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of younger African-American males, within 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 remain in jail or scrape together a 10% cash payment and the remainder of the bail-in collateral—even earlier than they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 persons are being held in jails within the U.S. as a result of they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman's services.
Four states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as an alternative require a 10% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the courtroom. In 2018, California voted to remove money bail necessities from its court docket system.