Why You Should Spend More Time Thinking About Los Angeles County Bail Bonds
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an settlement by a criminal defendant to seem for trial or pay a sum of money set by the courtroom. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who charges the defendant a charge in return for guaranteeing the payment. The bail bond is a sort of surety bond.
The commercial bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines. In different international locations, bail might entail a set of restrictions and situations placed on prison defendants in return for their 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 docket.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will appear for trial.
·Judges sometimes have broad latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen generally charge 10% of the bail quantity up front in return for their service and will charge further charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is widely seen as discriminatory to low-earnings defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of young African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who is charged with a criminal offense is often given a bail hearing earlier than a choose. The amount of the bail is at the choose's discretion. A judge might deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical stage if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or appears more likely to be a flight threat.
Judges generally have large 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 extra not uncommon.
The commercial bail bond system exists solely within the United States and the Philippines.
Once the amount of the bail is set, the defendant's decisions are to stay in jail till the charges 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 last instance, courts in some jurisdictions settle for title to a house or different collateral of value in lieu of cash.
Bail bondsmen, additionally known as bail bond agents, provide written agreements to Home page legal courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they assure fail to appear on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen usually cost 10% of the bail quantity up entrance in return for their service and may charge further charges. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the amount charged.
The agent may additionally require an announcement of creditworthiness or may demand that the defendant turn over collateral in the form of property or securities. Bail bondsmen typically settle for most property of value, including cars, jewelry, and homes in addition to shares 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 a part of the bigger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of young African-American men, in the U.S.
The bail bond system is considered by many even in the legal career to be discriminatory, because it requires low-revenue defendants to remain in jail or scrape collectively a ten% money fee and the rest of the bail-in collateral—even before they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 individuals are being held in jails in the U.S. as a result of they can't afford bail or a bail bondsman's companies.
4 states together with Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as a substitute require a ten% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the court. In 2018, California voted to eliminate cash bail requirements from its courtroom system.