20 Trailblazers Leading the Way in Bail Bonds in Los Angeles California
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an settlement by a criminal defendant to appear for trial or pay a sum of money set by the court docket. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who prices the defendant a price in return for guaranteeing the cost. The bail bond is a kind of surety bond.
The business bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines. In different international locations, bail could entail a set of restrictions and situations positioned on felony 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 courtroom.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will seem for trial.
·Judges sometimes have broad latitude in setting bail amounts.
·Bail bondsmen typically cost 10% of the bail quantity up front in return for their service and may charge extra charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is broadly considered 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 against the law is often given a bail listening to earlier than a judge. The quantity of the bail is on the decide's discretion. A judge could deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical stage if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or appears likely to be a flight danger.
Judges typically have vast latitude in setting bail quantities, 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 about, the defendant's decisions are to stay in jail till the fees are resolved at trial, to arrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail quantity in full until the case is resolved. In the last instance, courts in some jurisdictions settle for title to a house or different collateral of worth in lieu of cash.
Bail bondsmen, also called bail bond brokers, present written agreements to felony courts to pay the Los Angeles County Bail Bonds 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 quantity up entrance in return for their service and may cost further fees. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the quantity charged.
The agent may also require a statement of creditworthiness or may demand that the defendant flip over collateral in the form of property or securities. Bail bondsmen typically accept most property of value, together with automobiles, jewelry, and homes as well as stocks and bonds.
As soon as the bail or bail bond is delivered, the defendant is released until trial.
The Disadvantages of the Bail Bond System
The bail bond system has develop into a part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, especially of younger African-American males, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is taken into account by many even in the legal career to be discriminatory, as it requires low-revenue defendants to stay in jail or scrape collectively a ten% money fee and the remainder of the bail-in collateral—even earlier than 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.
Four states together with 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.