7 Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Bail Bonds Los Angeles county
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an agreement by a felony defendant to look for trial or pay a sum of money set by the court docket. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who expenses the defendant a price in return for guaranteeing the payment. The bail bond is a sort of surety bond.
The commercial bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines. In different nations, bail could entail a set of restrictions and conditions positioned 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 docket.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will appear for trial.
·Judges sometimes have vast latitude in setting bail amounts.
·Bail bondsmen usually cost 10% of the bail quantity up front in return for his or her service and will charge further charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the amount charged.
·The bail system is extensively viewed as discriminatory to low-earnings defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of young African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who's charged with a crime is usually given a bail listening to earlier than a decide. The quantity of the bail is on the judge's discretion. A decide could deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical level 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 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 more not unusual.
The industrial bail bond system exists only in the United States and the Philippines.
As soon as the amount of the bail is about, the defendant's selections are to remain in jail until the fees are resolved at trial, to rearrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail quantity in full till the case is resolved. In the last instance, courts in some jurisdictions accept title to a house or different collateral of value in lieu of cash.
Bail bondsmen, also referred to as bail bond brokers, present Check over here written agreements to criminal courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they assure fail to look on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen generally charge 10% of the bail quantity up entrance in return for his or her service and will cost additional fees. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
The agent may also require a statement of creditworthiness or might demand that the defendant flip over collateral within the type of property or securities. Bail bondsmen generally accept most property of value, including automobiles, jewellery, and homes in addition to stocks and bonds.
Once 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 become part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of younger African-American men, in the U.S.
The bail bond system is considered by many even within the authorized occupation to be discriminatory, as it requires low-income 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 people are being held in jails in the U.S. because they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman's services.
Four states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and instead require a 10% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the court. In 2018, California voted to get rid of cash bail requirements from its court system.