The Most Common Mistakes People Make With Los Angeles Bail Bonds
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an settlement by a legal defendant to appear for trial or pay a sum of cash set by the court. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who fees the defendant a fee in return for guaranteeing the cost. The bail bond is a type of surety bond.
The business bail bond system exists solely within the United States and the Philippines. In other international locations, bail may entail a set of restrictions and circumstances positioned on felony defendants in return for his or her launch until their trial dates.
Key Takeaways
·A bail bond cosigned by a bail bondsmen is posted by a defendant in lieu of full cost of the bail set by the court.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will appear for trial.
·Judges usually have broad latitude in setting bail amounts.
·Bail bondsmen typically cost 10% of the bail quantity up front in return for their service and will cost further fees. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is broadly seen as discriminatory to low-income defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of young African-American males.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who is charged with a criminal offense is usually given a bail hearing earlier than a choose. The amount of the bail is at the decide's discretion. A choose could 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 usually have large latitude in setting bail amounts, and typical amounts fluctuate by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor may see bail set at $500. Felony crime charges have correspondingly high bail, with $20,000 or extra not unusual.
The commercial 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 fees are resolved at trial, to arrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail quantity in full till the case is resolved. Within the final instance, courts in some jurisdictions accept title to a home or other collateral of worth in lieu of money.
Bail bondsmen, additionally called bail bond agents, provide written agreements to felony courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they guarantee fail to appear on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen generally charge 10% of the bail amount up entrance in return for his or her service and will cost further fees. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the amount charged.
The agent may require a statement of creditworthiness or could demand that the defendant flip over collateral in the type of property or securities. Bail Bail Bonds downtown LA bondsmen usually accept most property of worth, together with automobiles, jewelry, and homes as well as shares and bonds.
As soon as 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 grow to be part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of younger African-American males, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is taken into account by many even within the legal profession to be discriminatory, as it requires low-income defendants to stay in jail or scrape together a 10% money payment and the remainder of the bail-in collateral—even earlier than they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 individuals are being held in jails within the U.S. as a result of they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman's companies.
Four states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as an alternative require a 10% deposit on the bail quantity to be lodged with the courtroom. In 2018, California voted to eliminate money bail requirements from its court docket system.