Bail bonds
When a person is jailed and charged for a major crime, they need to wait in jail till a bail hearing. It is at this bail hearing that the judge determines the bail . If that person can't raise the amount of money, they have to remain in prison up until their court date. But that does not always have to be the case; they can also seek the help of a bail bondsman.
Unfortunately, the majority of people end up staying in jail up until their court date because most do not have a large amount of cash available in the bank.
Our site will assist you with bailing out your loved ones by connecting you to trustworthy and budget friendly bail bond representatives in Nemaha 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 accused gain temporary liberty while awaiting their court hearing.
The law allows two sorts of bail -- a criminal bail bond and a civil bail bond.
To be clear, a judge does not impose a criminal bail bond to penalize you for your alleged criminal offense. You are still presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, the judge needs to have a guarantee that you will show up in court to face your accuser; hence, the requirement to post bail. If you attend all your arranged criminal proceedings as promised, and you are eventually found not guilty, the bail will be given back to you. If you are found guilty, the bail money will be used to pay for the fines and penalties that the court might impose on you. When you skip the court hearings, your bail will be lost and you will be subject to arrest.
The same justification applies with the civil bail bonds. The bail imposed on civil cases functions as a guarantee or a surety that the suspect will have the ability to pay the fines and penalties that the court may require from the defendant 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 for bail. A bondsman generally charges a non-refundable fee of 10% of the total bail. That is just reasonable, considering the risk the bondsman is taking in putting up the bail bond. Anyway, the most pressing concern is to get you released from jail, and for that need to search for a reliable bonding company in your local area.
An agreement with a bonding company is also valuable since they will facilitate your release from jail, simplifying a difficult legal process. You can simply contact a bondsman who will provide you a deal and ask you to give the needed information about yourself, or somebody you would like to bail out of prison. When you agree to the deal, you can simply relax and wait for the bail bondsman to post the bail on your behalf.
Obviously you still have to show up at your hearing. However, now that you're free on bail, you can appear in court in civilian clothes. When you had stayed in prison for failure to put up bail, you would appear in court in a prison uniform-- and that does not make a good impression. A bondsman allows you to make a decent appearance in the courtroom, which matters a whole lot because first impressions matter.
How does the bail bond process work?
Choosing a good bonding company is important. Unfortunately, there are shady companies out there who prey on unsuspicious families that are already desperate for help.
Make sure you are ready when you talk to a bondsman. Ask all your questions, and only once all your questions are answered should you continue with the subsequent steps of hiring their services. They can then proceed with posting the bail and filing the necessary paperwork to get you or a friend out.
What details does a bondsman need?
When you speak to a bondsman, they will need to know:
- The full name and age of the defendant
- The jail where the defendant is held
- The booking number and the charge
Will the bondsman require collateral ?
If a bondsman will ask for collateral for will vary between cases, however, it is a common practice in the business. As for the type of collateral that is acceptable, the list is just way too long to mention everything. Suffice to say that if a bondsman believes that an item is valueable, it can be used as collateral. Listed below are just a couple of examples:
- Real estate or property
- Cars, boats, yachts
- Jewelry or gems
- Shares, stocks or equities
- Bank accounts
- TV, appliances or other electronics
- Antiques or art
- Farm equipment
And when available, you could also make use of payment options provided by a bail bondsman.
If you or your loved ones run the risk of remaining in prison for a long time simply because you are not able to raise the amount, a bail bondsman is the only course of action that is left. On our site you can find a bondsman in Nemaha County. Most of them are open 24x7.
