11 Creative Ways to Write About LA Bail Bonds
What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an settlement by a prison 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 costs the defendant a price in return for guaranteeing the payment. The bail bond is a kind of surety bond.
The industrial bail bond system exists only within the United States and the Philippines. In different countries, bail might entail a set of restrictions and situations placed 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 quantities.
·Bail bondsmen typically charge 10% of the bail quantity up entrance in return for their service and should charge further charges. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the amount charged.
·The bail system is broadly viewed as discriminatory to low-revenue defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of younger African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who's charged with a crime is often given a bail hearing earlier than a judge. The amount of the bail is at the choose's discretion. A judge may deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical degree if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or seems prone to be a flight risk.
Judges generally have large latitude in setting bail quantities, and typical amounts vary by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor might see bail set at $500. Felony crime fees have correspondingly excessive bail, with $20,000 or more not uncommon.
The business bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines.
Once the quantity of the bail is ready, the defendant's choices are to remain in jail till the costs are resolved at trial, to rearrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail amount in full until the case is resolved. In the final occasion, courts in some jurisdictions accept title to a home or other collateral of value in lieu of money.
Bail bondsmen, additionally known as bail bond brokers, 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 additional fees. Some states have put a cap of 8% on the amount charged.
The agent may additionally require an announcement of creditworthiness or could demand that the defendant turn over collateral in the form of property or securities. Bail bondsmen usually 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 till trial.
The Disadvantages of the Bail Bond System
The bail bond system has change into part of the larger debate over mass incarceration, especially of younger African-American males, within the U.S.
The bail bond system is considered by many even in the legal career to be discriminatory, because it requires low-earnings defendants to remain in jail or scrape collectively a 10% cash payment and the rest of the bail-in collateral—even earlier than they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 persons are being held Click for info in jails within the U.S. as a result of they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman's services.
Four states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and as an alternative require a ten% deposit on the bail quantity to be lodged with the court docket. In 2018, California voted to eradicate money bail requirements from its court system.