Bail bonds
When a suspect is apprehended, he or she will need to spend time in prison while waiting for a bail hearing. This hearing is a process where the judge will determine the amount of money that serves as a guarantee to the court for the temporary liberty of the defendant. But not everybody is able to come up with the requested amount of bail, and when that is the case he or she would need to stay in prison during the lawsuit. Fortunately, {it is possible to enlist the services of|you can make use of a bail bondsman to cover the amount.
On our website you can search for professional bail bond agents in Indiana County that can ensure that you or your loved ones can be free, at least until the verdict and sentencing.
Why does a judge impose bail ?
The law allows the services of a bondsman to post a bail bond, also known as surety bond, to help an accused get temporary liberty while waiting for their court hearing.
The law allows two types of bail -- a criminal bail bond as well as a civil bail bond.
To make it clear, a judge does not require a criminal bail bond to punish you for your alleged crime. You are still innocent up until proven guilty. That being said, the judge needs an assurance that you will show up at trial to face your accuser; hence, the requirement to post bail. If you participate in all of your arranged criminal procedures as promised, and you are eventually found not guilty, the bail will be returned to you. In case you are found guilty, the bail money will be used to take care of the fines and penalties that the judge may impose on you. If you miss the court hearings, your bail will be forfeited and you will be subject to getting arrested.
The same justification holds with civil bail bonds. The bail imposed on civil cases functions as an assurance or a surety that the accused will have the ability to pay the penalties and fines that the judge might enforce on the accused after the trial.
Why should I care about bail?
Except if you are planning to remain in jail, you have to make bail. Unfortunately, very few people can afford it, and that is why a bonding company is of utmost importance to anyone that would like to wait for their trial out of jail.
The amount of bail {will vary|depends on a lot of different factors. For instance, two individuals who committed the exact same crime can have very different amounts of bail. This occurs because the court will take into consideration your financial circumstances, prior arrests, your roots in the community, and if you are a flight risk.
In nearly all states, the rate charged by the bondsman is typically 10-20% of the overall bail, and you will not get this back.
Additionally, the bonding company can assist you navigate the complicated judicial proceedings. It's more convenient to hire their services then to deal with the legal system by yourself.
How the bail bonds process works
To start the bail bonds process, you first have to look for a bail agent. You can do that in person, over the phone and even via the internet. Given the strict adherence to professionalism, a bail bondsman will gladly walk you through the bail procedure and iron out any reservations that you might have.
Time is of the essence throughout this process. As soon as the bail bondsman addressed all of your concerns to your complete satisfaction, the bail agent will deal with all of the formalities needed to get you or your loved one released from prison.
To make certain all goes well, a bail bondsman needs to know the offender's name, birthdate, and the location or city of the arrest. With this info, the agent will have the ability to get additional information from the jail system needed to secure the release. After managing all the formalities, the bail bondsman will visit the prison to get the accused out.
Using a bail bondsman to bail out yourself or someone you know is that easy, you can be out of prison and reunited with your loved ones in a few hours.
Going to meet with a bondsman?
You should have have the following relevant information on hand when speaking to the bondsman:
- The defendant's name
- The jail, city, and county where the offender is held
- The offender's booking number
- The charges against the offender
- The amount of money of the bail
Will the bail bondsman require collateral for their service?
Whether or not a bondsman will ask for collateral for providing bail will vary between cases, but it is a common practice in the business. As for the sort of collateral that is accepted, the list is simply too long to mention everything. But if a bail bondsman believes that an item is valueable, it could be acceptable as collateral. Listed below are just some examples:
- House or land
- Vehicles, 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 can also take advantage of payment plans offered by a bonding company.
When you or a family member are in danger of remaining in prison for quite some time simply because you can't raise the bail amount, a bail bondsman is the only alternative that is left. By using our site you can look for a bondsman in Indiana County. Most of them are open for business 24x7.
