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You’ll probably be taken to the local jail after your arrest for a crime and processed at the police station. You’ll then typically have the option of being released before your trial. A bail hearing is where the conditions of your release are decided.
This blog’s main goal will be on cases in which a bail bondsman (or bond agent) makes a court pledge to pay the bail amount if the defendant doesn’t show up for the trial.
Read on to discover more about what a bail bondsman does.
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Your First Call to a Bail Agent
For someone to be released from custody, the judge has set bail. The accused may get bail bonds service if the required sum of money is too high for them to raise the entire amount of their bail.
- The crucial information that you must give the bail bondsman is listed below. Before you call, have this information ready.
- The precise location of the person’s custody as well as the name of the jail
- Please get the person’s booking number and full name if you can.
- The bail sum needed to release the prisoner from custody
- Following that, you and the bail agent will talk about payment choices.
Typically between 10% and 20% of the total bail amount, a bail bondsman will impose a non-refundable fee.
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Role of a Bail Bondsman: The Process
The bond agent then shows the court with a surety bond to release the defendant after the bail bonding business has been paid its fee.
You won’t be forced to pay the bail bondsman any more money as long as the defendant shows up to court as needed and doesn’t skip any court dates.
The court will retain the bail sum that the bail bonding company granted the prisoner if they “skip bail”—do not show up for a scheduled court date. Now, the co-signers of the bail bond—friends or family—are liable for paying the entire bond sum.
Additionally, a bail bond agent has the power to track down the defendant, place them in custody, and then deliver them to the court.
When someone skips bail, bonding companies frequently use bounty hunters to find them. Police cannot match the authority of bounty hunters. They have the ability to transgress legal boundaries.
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A Critique of Commercial Bail Bonding
The justice system’s dependence on commercial bail bonds to ensure defendants appear in court has inherent issues.
The first issue of bail bonding is that it is often out of reach for those with limited financial resources. While the privileged go home, they sit in jail. Even a 10% non-refundable premium might be excessive. This is a result of the unfairness in the criminal justice system, not the bail bondsman’s work.
Conclusion
You’ve been taken into custody. You want to get home to your family and get ready for court. Find out what a bail bondsman does and how the bail system functions. Speak to a skilled criminal defense lawyer immediately if you’ve been accused of a crime.