Getting arrested is without a doubt a stressful experience. Finding and consulting with proper legal counsel about your arrest will be something you will want to do as quickly as possible after your arrest. Getting locked up at your local jail makes doing that all the more difficult. That’s where the use of bail comes in. When you are arrested, a judge or magistrate will set the bail amount according to the nature of the charges that you have been arrested for. Making bail allows you to remain free so that you can find the best legal advice before your first court appearance. However in many cases the amount of bail that is set is beyond what most people can afford at the time of their arrest. That’s where finding a bail bondsman to pay for your bail comes in. Here are the crucial points about bail bonds, including the costs involved and process associated with getting out of jail quickly through a bail bond company.
1. What is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is a promise of money given to a court as collateral for someone’s release from jail while awaiting trial. The goal of bail is to ensure that criminal defendants return to court for their hearings. The amount of your bail will be based on a number of factors including the charges against you and degree to which the courts consider you a flight risk to face the charges in a court of law. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Hence it is important that you know how bail bonds works so that you remain free while you prepare for your own defence.
2. The Cost of Bail Bonds
The judge presiding over your case will typically determine the bail bond amount. The judge may base the cost of bail bond on several factors such as past criminal history and severity of the current charge and flight risk. However, the total cost of bail is often much more than what most people can afford to pay. However, the good news is that a bail bond agent such as Orange County Bail Bonds can cover this cost for you at an affordable rate which is a percentage of the bail amount.
3. Bonding Through a Bondsman/ Agent
After an arrest for a crime, you have the right to be released from jail until the trial. The release can be on the person’s own recognizance, or the court can set a bail bond. A bail bond means you pay money to a bondsman, who in turn posts your bail in exchange for getting that money back when you appear in court. A lawyer usually works with a bondsman, and clients sign an agreement stating they will go to all hearings as required by law and pay any fees associated with bonding.
If someone doesn’t show up for their hearing—or pays their fine late—the bondsman loses out on their money and must find the arrestee so they show up for their court appearances. If you don’t show up, your Indemnitor or co-signer agrees to pay off your bond. If the bondsman does not follow through on the promise to make sure the defendant appears in court to face the charges against them, they are liable for covering your entire bond amount.
Most people cannot afford a lump sum of money for their bail costs, which is why signing an Indemnity Agreement with a professional bail company is usually much easier to accomplish your goal of getting out of jail faster. Therefore, hiring a reliable and trustworthy bondsman is key to preparing to defend yourself in a court of law. Understanding how bail bonds work gives you power to make the right decisions regarding your freedom during legal proceedings. So choose wisely!
4. Posting a Bond
You will need to contact a qualified bail agent to post a bail bond. A bail agent will help you fill out the paperwork and arrange payment for your release from jail. Your bail agent company must post a bond for a bailout to be successful. A bail bond is essentially a contract that states if you fail to make all your scheduled court appearances (called failure to appear or FTA), you forfeit your money or assets posted.
The amount required for posting varies by jurisdiction but is usually at 10% of the cost of releasing an arrested person from jail before trial. If, for example, the court sets $10,000 as an eligible bond amount, you will need to put up $1,000 cash to post it. If you make all the appearances required by the court, the judicial system will return the money after legal proceedings are completed. Once someone has posted bail and gets approval by an appropriate court official to be released, they are allowed to walk free, waiting for their trial date.
5. Bail Bond Agent Guarantees Appearance and Compliance
A bail bonds agent is legally responsible for ensuring that the defendant shows up at all of their court appearances in Orange County California. If a defendant fails to appear, it’s almost certain that the Indemnitor will have to pay for their failure (up to 10% of their initial bond amount). As a result, most agents work very hard to ensure their defendants are compliant and make all of their court dates.
Bail bond agents typically do so by calling, emailing, texting, and even driving out to defendants’ homes if necessary to ensure appearance and compliance to court and comply with all applicable court orders. In most cases, an Indemnitor (typically a parent or close relative) has to sign on as surety to guarantee that they will meet these requirements on behalf of their loved one.
Conclusion
Understanding how bail bonds work is a vital step towards preserving your legal rights. Even better, it helps you to identify a reliable and professional bail bondsman/agent to help free your loved ones out of jail quickly so that they can be reunited with their family faster. Working with a reliable bail bond agent will help you not to overburden your financial limits while putting you in contact with trustworthy companies. You will have time and resources to attend to your court dates, ensuring no legal violations and no appeals for release because of technicalities. Also, you won’t need to put off work or other important obligations. You can contact Orange County Bail Bonds for all your bail bonds needs!