A Beginner's Guide to Bail Bonds in Los Angeles county
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an settlement by a criminal defendant to appear for trial or pay a sum of cash set by the court docket. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who prices the defendant a charge in return for guaranteeing the cost. The bail bond is a kind of surety bond.
The business bail bond system exists only in the United States and the Philippines. In other international locations, bail could entail a set of restrictions and situations positioned on legal defendants in return for their release until their trial dates.
Key Takeaways
·A bail bond cosigned by a bail bondsmen is posted by a defendant in lieu of full fee of the bail set by the court docket.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will seem for trial.
·Judges sometimes have large latitude in setting bail amounts.
·Bail bondsmen generally cost 10% of the bail quantity up entrance in return for their service and may charge extra charges. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the amount charged.
·The bail system is widely viewed as discriminatory to low-earnings defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of younger African-American males.
How a Bail Bond Works
A person who is charged with a crime is typically given a bail listening to earlier than a decide. The amount of the bail is at the choose's discretion. A choose might deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical level if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or appears prone to be a flight threat.
Judges generally have broad latitude in setting bail amounts, and typical amounts vary by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor may see bail set at $500. Felony crime fees have correspondingly high bail, with $20,000 or more not unusual.
The industrial bail bond system exists only in the United States and the Philippines.
As soon as the quantity of the bail is ready, the defendant's selections are to stay in jail until the charges are resolved at trial, to rearrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail quantity in full until the case is resolved. In the final occasion, courts in some jurisdictions accept title to a home or different collateral of worth in lieu of money.
Bail bondsmen, also known as bail bond brokers, provide written agreements to felony courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they guarantee fail to look on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen usually charge 10% of the bail amount up entrance in return for their service and may cost further fees. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
The agent might also require a press release of creditworthiness or may demand that the defendant flip over collateral within the form of property or securities. Bail bondsmen typically settle for most property of value, including vehicles, jewelry, and houses in addition to shares and bonds.
Once the bail or bail bond is delivered, the defendant is released till trial.
The Disadvantages of the Bail Bond System
The bail bond system has develop into part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of young African-American men, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is considered by many even in the authorized career to be discriminatory, as it requires low-earnings defendants to stay in jail or Check out the post right here scrape together a ten% cash fee and the remainder of the bail-in collateral—even before they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 people are being held in jails within the U.S. as a result of they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman's companies.
4 states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as a substitute require a ten% deposit on the bail quantity to be lodged with the courtroom. In 2018, California voted to remove cash bail requirements from its court docket system.