Bail bonds
In its essence, a bail bond is a type of guarantee that you will show up at the court hearing at the specified date. In return, you are allowed to remain free despite the fact that you are still undergoing trial for a criminal or civil charge. Otherwise, you will sit in prison while waiting for the court to decide on a verdict. A bonding company can put up bail for you and get you out of prison.
Depending on the charge, the cost of bail could be steep. Not a lot of suspects are able to post the bond. There's a good reason why the correctional system is overburdened. However, there's a legal solution to gain your temporary freedom even when your case is still in progress. Using our site you can locate a reliable bonding company in Susquehanna County.
Use a bail bond to gain temporary freedom after an arrest
The legal system allows a bondsman to post a bail bond, also referred to as surety bond, to help people apprehended and accused of a crime gain temporary freedom while waiting for their court hearing.
The law allows two kinds of bail -- a criminal bail bond as well as a civil bail bond.
To be clear, a judge does not impose a criminal bail bond to penalize you for your supposed criminal offense. You are still presumed innocent up until proven guilty. However, the court needs a guarantee that you will appear at trial to face your accuser; therefore, the requirement to post bail. If you participate in all your scheduled criminal procedures as required, and you are in the end acquitted, the bail amount will be repaid to you. In the case that you are found guilty, the bail amount will be used to take care of the penalties and fines that the judge might impose on you. If you skip the court hearings, the bail will be lost and you will be subject to getting arrested.
However, the civil bail bonds imposed on civil cases function as a guarantee or a surety with the court where the financial obligations, interests, and costs imposed on the accused can be paid from.
A bail bondsman is your link to freedom
A bondsman is your fastest link to getting out of prison after your arrest. If you don't possess sufficient funds to bail yourself out and gain temporary freedom, your best course of action is a trusted bail bondsman that will cover the bail for you. Most bail bondsmen charge a premium of 10% of the bail amount. That is no more than fair, taking into account the risk the bonding company is taking in putting up the bail bond. If you fail to turn up at trial, the court will forfeit the bail bond posted by the bail bondsman. Anyway, you do not need to bother yourself with the financial calculations now. Your most immediate concern is to get yourself out of prison, and a reliable bail bondsman can manage that for you.
Additionally, you need not worry yourself with the tricky judicial process in posting bail as the bail bondsman will take care of that to facilitate your release from prison. The only thing that needs to be done is for you or someone else to get in touch with a trustworthy bondsman. That person will propose you a deal, proposing to post your bail to get you out of prison in return for a small fee. With your authorization, the bonding company will then pay the bail in your place, releasing you from prison.
You still will need to attend your court hearing though. But you will be arriving at court in civilian clothes and not in a jail jumpsuit. That can boost your confidence as you defend yourself from your accuser. Furthermore, the judge assigned to your case will probably have a more favorable impression of you, rather than if you were to show up in court being dressed in jail attire, looking like you're already guilty of the crime you're accused of even before the court could make a ruling. You can give thanks your bondsman for making this possible.
How the bail bonds process works
Remember this: In the event that you are arrested and booked for a supposed crime, instantly ask for an attorney to work with you and protect your civil rights. Furthermore, contact a trusted friend to connect you with a bondsman to begin the bail procedure. When this is done, the bonding company will want answers to simple questions such as the accused's name, date of birth, and the place or city of the arrest. The bondsman will then propose to put up the bail for you in return for an affordable service fee. Immediately after the agreement is made, the bondsman will proceed with the necessary actions to secure your release from prison. In a matter of hours, following the actions taken by your bail bondsman, you can walk out of prison, free once more.
What information do I need when contacting a bail bondsman?
When calling a bondsman, ensure you have:
- The full name of the defendant
- The name of the jail the accused is jailed in
- The booking number
- The charges
- Any other relevant info you can think of
What is accepted as collateral?
In most cases, the bail bondsman will ask for collateral with the transaction. This is understandable, considering the risks involved. An inmate is a possible flight risk, and are numerous occasions where a bonding company had to employ the services of a bounty hunter to bring back the fleeing offender.
But what is accepted as collateral? In a nut-shell, when a bondsman considers an asset valuable, you can use it as a guarantee for the bond. Listed below are a few examples:
- Real estate
- Cars
- Equities
- Jewelry
- Electronics
- Bank accounts
- Visa or mastercard
If you have trouble paying for the bail bond, bonding companies have payment options that you can use. Just talk to the bondsman to determine which option is best suited for your situation.
Use this website to find a bail bondsman that is perfect for your needs. Almost all of them are open 24x7, ready to assist you or a family member to spend the least amount of time in prison as possible.
