Bail bonds
When a person is incarcerated and taken into custody for a severe criminal offense, they must wait in jail up until a bail hearing. It is at this bail hearing that the judge sets the bail . If that person can't raise the amount of money, they need to remain in jail until their court hearing. But that does not always need to hold true; they can also seek the help of a bail bondsman.
Unfortunately, the majority of people wind up staying in jail until their court date since most do not have a large sum of cash sitting around in the bank.
Our website will help you with bailing out your loved ones by connecting you to reliable and affordable bail bond agents in Iowa City.
Why does a judge impose a bail bond ?
The judicial system allows the services of a bondsman to post a bail bond, also called surety bond, to help an accused get temporary freedom while awaiting their court hearing.
The judicial system allows two types of bail bond-- a criminal bail bond and a civil bail bond.
To make it clear, a judge does not impose a criminal bail bond to penalize you for your supposed criminal offense. You are still presumed innocent up until proven guilty. Having said that, the court requires a guarantee that you will appear at trial to face your accuser; hence, the requirement to post bail. If you show up at all of your scheduled criminal procedures as promised, and you are in the end acquitted, the bail will be repaid to you. In case you are condemned, the bail money will be used to cover the fines and penalties that the judge might impose on you. If you skip the court hearings, your bail will be lost and you will be subject to getting arrested.
The same justification applies to civil bail bonds. The bail enforced on civil cases works as an assurance or a surety that the defendant will be able to pay the penalties and fines that the judge might enforce on the offender after the trial.
How helpful is a bail bond?
A bonding company is your best opportunity to not spend considerable time in prison when you don't have enough cash available to post your bail. A bondsman generally requires a non-refundable fee of 10% of the total bail. That is just fair, taking into consideration the risk the company is taking in putting up the bail bond. Anyway, the most pressing concern is to get you released from prison, and for that have to find a trustworthy bondsman in your area.
An agreement with a bondsman is also valuable due to the fact that they will facilitate your release from prison, simplifying a complex judicial procedure. You can just contact a bail agent who will offer you an agreement and ask you to provide the needed information about yourself, or a person you would like to bail out of prison. In case you approve the deal, you can simply sit tight and wait for the bonding company to post the bail for you.
Of course you still need to be at your hearing. However, now that you're free on a bond, you can show up in court in civilian clothes. When you had stayed in prison because you could not post bail, you would have appeared in court in a jail uniform-- and that's not a pretty sight to see. A bail bondsman allows you to make a respectable appearance before the judge, which really matters a whole lot given that first impressions matter.
How does the bail bonds process work
Bear in mind: In the event that you get arrested and booked for a supposed criminal offense, immediately ask for a lawyer to speak for you and protect your civil rights. Furthermore, call a reliable family member to connect you with a bonding company to start the bail bonds process. Once this contact is made, the bondsman will want answers to general questions such as the suspect's name, birthdate, and the place or city of the arrest. The bondsman will then offer to pay the bail money on your behalf in return for a service fee. Right after the agreement is made, the bonding company will continue with the actions to secure your release from prison. Within hours, after the action taken by your bail bondsman, you can walk out of jail, free once again.
What information do I need when getting in touch with a bondsman?
When calling a bail bondsman, ensure you have:
- The full name of the accused
- The name of the prison the accused is jailed in
- The booking number
- The charges
- Any other relevant info you can think of
Will the bondsman need collateral for their service?
Whether or not a bonding company will ask for collateral for putting up bail differs between cases, but it is a common practice in the industry. Regarding the type of collateral that is accepted, the list is simply too long to mention all of it. Suffice to say that if a bondsman thinks that an item is valueable, it can be used as collateral. Listed below are just a few examples:
- Real estate or property
- Vehicles, boats, yachts
- Jewelry or gems
- Shares, stocks or equities
- Bank accounts
- TV, appliances or other electronics
- Antiques or art
- Farm equipment
And if available, you can also make use of payment options provided by a bail bondsman.
If you or your loved ones run the risk of staying in jail for quite some time simply because you are not able to get the bail amount, a bondsman is the only alternative that is left. On our site you can find a bondsman in Iowa City. Many of them are open for business 24x7.
