10 Meetups About Bail Bondsman in Los Angeles You Should Attend
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an agreement by a legal defendant to seem for trial or pay a sum of money set by the court. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who costs the defendant a fee in return for guaranteeing the fee. The bail bond is a sort of surety bond.
The industrial bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines. In other countries, bail could entail a set of restrictions and situations positioned on felony defendants in return for their release till 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 courtroom.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will appear for trial.
·Judges typically have wide latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen usually charge 10% of the bail amount up front in return for his or her service and should charge additional charges. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is extensively viewed as discriminatory to low-earnings defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of younger African-American males.
How a Bail Bond Works
A person who is charged with against the law is often given a bail hearing before a judge. The quantity of the bail is on the judge's discretion. A judge could 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 typically have vast latitude in setting bail quantities, and typical amounts vary by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent Click for info misdemeanor may see bail set at $500. Felony crime fees have correspondingly high bail, with $20,000 or more not unusual.
The business bail bond system exists only in the United States and the Philippines.
As soon as the quantity of the bail is set, 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 instance, courts in some jurisdictions accept title to a house or different collateral of value in lieu of money.
Bail bondsmen, additionally referred to as bail bond agents, present written agreements to legal courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they guarantee fail to look on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen usually charge 10% of the bail amount up entrance in return for their service and may cost further fees. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the amount charged.
The agent can also require an announcement of creditworthiness or might demand that the defendant turn over collateral within the type of property or securities. Bail bondsmen generally settle for most property of worth, including cars, jewellery, and houses as well as shares and bonds.
Once the bail or bail bond is delivered, the defendant is released till trial.
The Disadvantages of the Bail Bond System
The bail bond system has develop into part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of younger African-American males, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is taken into account by many even within the legal profession to be discriminatory, because it requires low-revenue defendants to stay in jail or scrape collectively a 10% cash charge and the rest of the bail-in collateral—even earlier than 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 services.
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.