Bail bonds
In its essence, a bail bond is a kind of assurance that you are going to show up at the court hearing at the date specified. In return, you will be allowed to walk free despite the fact that you are still awaiting trial for a civil or criminal charge. Without a bail bond, you will stay jail while awaiting the court to decide on either conviction or acquittal. A bondsman can put up bail for you and get you out of jail.
Depending on the allegation, the amount of bail could be steep. Not many suspects are able to pay the bond. Certainly there's a good reason why the penal system is overloaded. However, there's a legal way to earn your temporary release from jail even if your lawsuit is on-going. With our site you can find a reputable bondsman in Winona County.
Why does a judge impose a bail bond ?
The law allows the services of a bondsman to post a bail bond, also called surety bond, to help an offender gain temporary freedom while waiting for their court appearance.
The law allows two kinds of bail -- a criminal bail bond and a civil bail bond.
To be clear, a judge does not require a criminal bail bond to penalize you for your supposed crime. You are still innocent until proven guilty. Nevertheless, the court requires a guarantee that you will show up at trial to face your accuser; hence, the requirement to post bail. If you attend all your scheduled criminal proceedings as required, and you are in the end found not guilty, the bail amount will be returned to you. If you are condemned, the bail will be used to take care of the penalties and fines that the judge might enforce on you. If you skip the court appearances, your bail will be forfeited and you will be subject to arrest.
The same justification applies with the civil bail bonds. The bail enforced on civil cases works as an assurance or a surety that the suspect will have the ability to pay the penalties and fines that the judge can impose on the defendant after the trial.
How helpful is a bail bond?
A bail bondsman is your biggest hope to not spend too much time in prison in case you don't have enough money available for bail. A bail bondsman typically asks for a non-refundable fee of 10% of the total bail. That is just reasonable, considering the risk the bondsman is taking in providing the bail bond. In any case, the most important thing is to get you out of jail, and for that have to find a trustworthy bondsman in your area.
A deal with a bonding company is also useful because the latter can assist in your release from prison, simplifying a difficult judicial procedure. You can simply contact a bail bondsman who can provide you a deal and request you to give the required info about yourself, or an individual you would like to bail out. In case you accept the deal, you can just sit tight and wait for the bonding company to post the bail on your behalf.
Obviously you still need to show up at your trial. However, now that you're free on bail, you can appear in court in civilian clothes. When you had remained in prison because you could not post bail, you would appear in court in a jail uniform-- and that does not make a good impression. A bail bondsman enables you to make a decent appearance in court, which really matters a lot because first impressions matter.
How does the bail bond process work?
Choosing a good bondsman is very important. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous individuals around that exploit unsuspicious families who are already desperate for help.
Make sure you are ready when you get in touch with a bondsman. Ask all your questions, and only once all your questions are answered should you continue with the subsequent steps of employing their services. The bonding company can then start with paying the bail and submitting the necessary paperwork to get you or a family member released from jail.
What your bail bondsman needs to know about you
When you or your representative get in contact with a bail bondsman, they will ask for the following details:
- The full name of the defendant
- The name and location of the jailhouse where the defendant is held
- The booking number in the police blotter
- The charges filed against the accused
- Any other relevant info
Will the bondsman require collateral for their service?
If a bail bondsman will ask for collateral for differs between cases, but it is a common practice in the industry. Regarding the kind of collateral that is accepted, the list is just far too long to mention all of it. Suffice to say that if a bondsman believes that an item has value, it can be used as collateral. Below are just some examples:
- House or property
- Cars, boats, yachts
- Jewelry or gems
- Shares, stocks or equities
- Bank accounts
- TV, appliances or other devices
- Antiques or art
- Farm equipment
And if available, you could also take advantage of payment plans provided by a bonding company.
If you or a friend run the risk of staying in prison for quite some time because you are not able to get the amount, a bail bondsman is the only alternative that is left. On our site you can look for a bail bondsman in Winona County. Most of them available 24x7.
