Why We Love Bail Bonds in Los Angeles (And You Should, Too!)
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 commercial bail bond system exists only in the United States and the Philippines. In different international locations, bail might entail a set of restrictions and circumstances placed on criminal defendants in return for his or her launch till 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 huge latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen usually charge 10% of the bail amount up entrance in return for his or her service and should charge additional 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 men.
How a Bail Bond Works
A person who's charged with against the law is usually given a bail hearing before a choose. The quantity of the bail is at the judge's discretion. A choose could deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical stage if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or seems more likely to be a flight risk.
Judges generally have huge latitude in setting bail quantities, and typical amounts differ 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 more not unusual.
The business bail bond system exists solely within the United States and the Philippines.
As soon as the quantity of the bail is ready, the defendant's choices are to remain in jail until the fees 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 value in lieu of cash.
Bail bondsmen, additionally referred to as bail bond agents, provide written agreements to prison courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they guarantee fail to appear on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen typically cost 10% of the bail amount up front in return for his or her service and should charge extra charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
The agent might also require an announcement of creditworthiness or could demand that the defendant flip over collateral within the type of property or securities. Bail bondsmen typically settle for most property of worth, together with vehicles, jewellery, and homes as well as stocks and bonds.
Once 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 part of the bigger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of younger African-American men, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is taken into account by many even in the authorized career to be discriminatory, as it requires low-earnings defendants to remain in jail or 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 Check out the post right here 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 a substitute require a 10% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the court docket. In 2018, California voted to get rid of money bail necessities from its court system.