10 Compelling Reasons Why You Need Bail Bonds Beverly Hills
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 costs 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 other international locations, bail might entail a set of restrictions and situations placed on legal 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 payment of the bail set by the court docket.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will appear for trial.
·Judges sometimes have huge latitude in setting bail amounts.
·Bail bondsmen typically charge 10% of the bail quantity up entrance in return for their service and should cost additional fees. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the amount charged.
·The bail system is widely considered as discriminatory to low-income 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 earlier than a choose. 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 likely to be a flight danger.
Judges typically have wide latitude in setting bail amounts, and typical quantities fluctuate by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor could see bail set at $500. Felony crime expenses have correspondingly high bail, with $20,000 or more not unusual.
The commercial bail bond system exists only within the United States and the Philippines.
As soon as the amount of the bail is about, the defendant's decisions 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 till the case is resolved. In the last instance, courts in some jurisdictions settle for title to a house or other collateral of value in lieu of cash.
Bail bondsmen, additionally known as bail bond agents, provide written agreements to felony 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 amount up front 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 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 develop into a part of the bigger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of younger African-American men, in the U.S.
The bail bond system is considered by many even in the legal career to be discriminatory, because it requires low-earnings defendants to remain in jail or scrape collectively a 10% cash fee 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 within the U.S. as a result of they can not afford bail or a bail bondsman's companies.
4 states together with Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as a substitute require a ten% deposit on the bail quantity to be lodged with the court. Click here! In 2018, California voted to eliminate cash bail requirements from its court system.