Bail bonds
Essentially, a bail bond is a kind of assurance that you will show up at your court hearing at the specified date. In return, you will be permitted to remain free even if you are still awaiting trial for a criminal or civil charge. Otherwise, you will stay jail while awaiting the court to decide on either conviction or acquittal. A bonding company can put up bail for you and get you released from prison.
Depending on the charge, the amount of bail can be expensive. Very few defendants are able to post the bail. Certainly there's a good reason why the correctional system is overburdened. However, there's a legal manner in which to gain your temporary release from prison even when your case is still in progress. Using our site you can look for a trustworthy bondsman in Grant County.
Why does a judge impose a bail bond ?
The law allows the services of a commercial bonding company to post a bail bond, also called surety bond, to help an accused gain temporary freedom while awaiting their court hearing.
The law allows two types of bail -- a criminal bail bond as well as a civil bail bond.
To be clear, a court does not impose a criminal bail bond to penalize you for your supposed crime. You are still innocent up until proven guilty. Having said that, the court needs an assurance that you will appear in court to face your accuser; hence, the need to post bail. If you participate in all of your arranged criminal proceedings as promised, and you are in the end found not guilty, the bail will be returned to you. In the case that you are found guilty, the bail will be used to pay for the fines and penalties that the court might enforce on you. When you miss the court hearings, the bail will be forfeited and you will be subject to getting arrested.
The same reasoning applies with the civil bail bonds. The bail enforced on civil cases works as an assurance or a surety that the offender will have the ability to pay the penalties and fines that the court might enforce on the defendant after the trial.
A bail bondsman is your way to freedom
A bondsman is your quick link to getting out of prison after your arrest. When you do not have sufficient funds to pay the bail yourself and gain temporary liberty, your best recourse is a reliable bonding company that will cover the bail in your place. Most bondsmen ask a fee of 10% of the total bail amount. That is no more than reasonable, looking at the risk the bonding company is taking in putting up the bail bond. If you do not appear at trial, the judge will forfeit the bail bond posted by the bail bondsman. Anyway, you need not worry yourself with the financial calculations right now. Your immediate concern is to get yourself released from prison, and a reliable bail bondsman can manage that for you.
Furthermore, you do not need to bother yourself with the complicated judicial procedure in putting up bail as the bail bondsman will handle that to assist in your release from prison. All that needs to be done is for you or your representative to contact a respected bail bondsman. That agent will propose you a deal, proposing to post your bail to get you released from prison in return for a reasonable fee. With your permission, the bondsman will then pay the bail on your behalf, releasing you from police custody.
You still will need to attend your trial though. However, you will be coming to court in normal clothes and not in a prison jumpsuit. That can boost your self-confidence as you defend yourself from your accuser. Moreover, the judge presiding over your case will likely have a more favorable impression of you, rather than if you were to arrive in court wearing a jail outfit, seeming like you're already guilty of the offense you're accused of even before the court can come to a decision. You can say thanks to your bondsman for making this possible.
How does the bail bond process work?
Finding a good bail agent is important. Sadly, there are deceitful individuals out there that take advantage of unwary families who are already desperate .
So be prepared when you contact a bail bondsman. Ask all questions you might have, and only after all your questions are answered should you continue with the subsequent steps of hiring their services. They can then start with paying the bail and filing the required documents to get you or a family member out.
Information your bondsman needs to have
If you call a bondsman, you need to provide these details:
- Your full name if you are the suspect
- The name and location of the jail where the defendant is detained
- The booking number in the police blotter
- The charges filed against the suspect
- Any other relevant details
Will the bail bondsman need collateral ?
Whether or not a bondsman requires collateral for putting up bail differs between cases, however, it is common in the business. As for the kind of collateral that is accepted, the list is simply far 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. Below are just a couple of examples:
- House or property
- Cars, boats, yachts
- Jewelry or gems
- Shares, stocks or equities
- Bank accounts
- TV, appliances or gadgets
- Antiques or art
- Farm equipment
And if available, you can also make use of payment options offered by a bondsman.
If you or a family member run the risk of remaining in jail for quite some time because you can't come up with the amount of money, a bail bondsman is the only option that is left. By using our site you can look for a bonding company in Grant County. Many of them available 24x7.
