Bail bonds
When you are arrested for a serious crime, you will need to stay in jail while waiting for the bail hearing. During the bail hearing, the court will determine the amount of bail that will get you released from jail. If you or your family can raise the money, then everything is fine. However, if you don't have any funds available, you are forced to remain behind bars while awaiting your court hearing -- a scary prospect to contemplate. Fortunately, there is a way out of your predicament: You or your family can get assistance from a bondsman who can put up your bail to the court, get you released from prison.
But how do you get in touch with a bonding company ? That's where our site can help: We can help you find a reputable and dependable bail bond agent in Phelps County who can pay the necessary bail to make it possible for you to get released from prison.
Why does a judge impose a bail bond ?
The law allows the services of a bondsman to post a bail bond, also known as surety bond, to help a defendant get temporary liberty while awaiting their trial.
The legal system allows two sorts of bail -- a criminal bail bond as well as a civil bail bond.
To make it clear, a court does not impose a criminal bail bond to punish you for your alleged criminal offense. You are still innocent up until proven guilty. That being said, the judge needs a guarantee that you will show up in court to face your accuser; hence, the need to post bail. If you participate in all your arranged criminal proceedings as promised, and you are eventually acquitted, the bail amount will be returned to you. If you are found guilty, the bail amount will be used to cover the fines and penalties that the court may enforce on you. If you skip the court appearances, the bail will be forfeited and you will be subject to arrest.
The same justification holds with civil bail bonds. The bail enforced on civil cases works as a guarantee or a surety that the suspect will be able to pay the penalties and fines that the court may impose on the offender after the trial.
How helpful is a bail bond?
A bail bondsman is your biggest hope to not spend considerable time in jail in case you don't have enough cash available for bail. A bail bond company typically requires a non-refundable fee of 10% of the bail amount. That is no more than reasonable, looking at the risk the bonding company is taking in providing the bond. Anyway, the most pressing concern is to get you out of prison, and for that need to search for a trustworthy bondsman in your local area.
A contract with a bail bondsman is also valuable since the latter can assist in your release from prison, simplifying a complex legal procedure. You can just call a bail agent who will offer you a deal and ask you to provide the needed info about yourself, or someone you want to bail out of jail. When you accept the contract, you can just sit tight and wait for the bonding company to put up the bail on your behalf.
Needless to say you still have to attend your hearing. However, now that you're free on a bond, you can appear before a judge in civilian clothes. If you had remained in jail because you could not put up bail, you would have turned up in court in a jail uniform-- and that does not make a good impression. A bail bondsman allows you to have a respectable appearance in the courtroom, which matters a whole lot since first impressions matter.
How the bail bonds process works
To begin the bail bonds process, you first have to find a bail bondsman. You can do that in person, over the phone and even online. Given the strict adherence to professionalism, a bail bondsman will gladly walk you through the bail procedure and straighten out any reservations that you might have.
Time is of the essence throughout this process. Once the bail agent answered all of your questions to your complete satisfaction, the bail agent will handle all of the formalities crucial to get you or your loved one released from jail.
To ensure all goes smoothly, a bail bondsman needs to know the defendant's name, birthdate, and the location or city of the arrest. With this info, the bail bondsman will have the ability to gather additional details from the prison system needed to secure the release. After handling all the procedures, the bail bondsman will visit the prison to get the accused out.
Using a bondsman to bail out yourself or someone you know is that straightforward, you can be out of prison and reunited with your loved ones in a matter of hours.
What info should I have when calling a bondsman?
When contacting a bondsman, make sure you have:
- The full name of the defendant
- The name of the prison the accused is incarcerated in
- The booking number
- The charges
- Any other relevant information you can think of
Will the bondsman require collateral ?
If a bonding company will want collateral for posting bail differs between cases, but it is typical in the business. As for the kind of collateral that is accepted, the list is just too long to mention everything. Suffice to say that if a bail bondsman believes that an item has value, it could be used as collateral. Listed below are just some examples:
- Real estate or land
- Cars, boats, yachts
- Jewelry or gems
- Shares, stocks or equities
- Bank accounts
- TV, appliances or other electronics
- Antiques or art collections
- Farm equipment
And if available, you could also make use of payment plans provided by a bail bondsman.
When you or a friend run the risk of staying in jail for quite some time simply because you are not able to come up with the amount of money, a bondsman is the only alternative that is left. On our website you can find a bonding company in Phelps County. A lot of them available day and night.
