Bail bonds
If you are arrested for a major crime, you have to remain in jail while waiting for the bail hearing. At the bail hearing, the judge will determine the amount of bail that will give you temporary freedom. If you or your family can quickly raise the money, then there's no problem. But if you don't have any available funds, you will be forced to stay in jail while waiting for your court hearing -- a scary prospect to contemplate. Luckily, there is a way out of your predicament: You or a friend can get help from a bail bondsman who can pay your bail to the court, to allow you temporary freedom.
But how do you contact a bondsman ? That's where our website can help: We can help you find a trusted and dependable bondsman in York County who can put up the necessary bail to allow you to get released from jail.
Why does a judge impose bail ?
The legal system permits the services of a commercial bonding company to post a bail bond, also referred to as surety bond, to help a defendant gain temporary freedom while waiting for their court hearing.
The law allows two sorts of bail -- a criminal bail bond and a civil bail bond.
To be clear, a court does not require a criminal bail bond to penalize you for your supposed criminal offense. You are still innocent until proven guilty. Nonetheless, the judge needs an assurance that you will show up in court to face your accuser; therefore, the need to post bail. If you show up at all your scheduled criminal procedures as promised, and you are eventually acquitted, the bail will be repaid to you. In case you are found guilty, the bail amount will be used to pay for the fines and penalties that the court might enforce on you. If you miss the court hearings, your bail will be lost and you will be subject to arrest.
The same reasoning applies with the civil bail bonds. The bail enforced on civil cases serves as an assurance or a surety that the accused will be able to pay the fines and penalties that the court can impose on the accused after the trial.
A bondsman is your way to freedom
A bail bondsman is your fastest link to getting out of prison after your apprehension. When you don't have enough money to bail yourself out and gain temporary liberty, your best course of action is a trusted bonding company that will post the bail in your place. Most bail bondsmen charge a fee of 10% of the total bail amount. That is no more than fair, looking at the risk the bonding company is taking in putting up the bond. If you fail to turn up in court, the judge will forfeit the bail bond put up by the bail bondsman. In any case, you do not need to trouble yourself with the financial calculations at this time. Your most immediate concern is to get yourself released from prison, and a reliable bonding company can make that happen.
Moreover, you need not trouble yourself with the tricky judicial procedure in putting up bail because the bail bondsman will take care of that to facilitate your release from prison. All that needs to be done is for you or your representative to get in touch with a respected bail bondsman. That agent will propose you a deal, proposing to pay your bail to get you released from 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 go to your trial though. However, you will be coming to court in normal clothes and not in a prison jumpsuit. That can increase your self-confidence as you defend yourself from your accuser. Furthermore, the judge presiding over your case will probably have a more positive impression of you, rather than if you were to appear in court being dressed in jail attire, appearing like you're already guilty of the crime you're indicted for even before the court could come to a decision. You can give thanks your bail bondsman for arranging this.
How does the bail bonds process work
Bear in mind: If you are arrested and booked for a supposed crime, immediately ask for a lawyer to speak for you and protect your legal rights. In addition, get in touch with a trusted person to connect you with a bail agent to begin the bail procedure. Once this is done, the bondsman will want answers to general questions like the defendant's name, date of birth, and the area or city of the arrest. The bail bondsman will then offer to pay the bail money in your place in return for a reasonable service fee. Once the agreement is made, the bonding company will proceed with the necessary actions to have you released. Within hours, following the actions taken by your bondsman, you can walk out of prison, a free man once again.
Information your bondsman needs to have
If you get in touch with a bonding company, you have to provide the following details:
- Your name if you are the offender
- The name and location of the jail where the suspect is held
- The booking number in the police blotter
- The charges filed against the suspect
- Any other related information
What is accepted as collateral?
In most cases, the bonding company will require collateral with the deal. This is reasonable considering the risks that are involved. An inmate is a flight risk, and there have been many examples where a bonding company needed to employ the services of a bounty hunter to bring back the fleeing suspect.
But what is accepted as collateral? In a nut-shell, if a bondsman considers something valuable, you are able to use it as collateral for the bond. Listed below are a number of examples:
- Real estate
- Vehicles
- Stocks
- Jewelry
- Electronic devices
- Bank accounts
- Credit cards
If you can't afford the bail bond right now, bonding companies usually have payment options that you can make use of. Just speak with the bondsman to figure out what option is the best one with regard to your circumstances.
You can use our site to search for a bonding company that is perfect for your needs. Many of them are open day and night, ready to assist you or a friend to spend the least amount of time in jail as possible.
