Everyday, we hear about news reports regarding individuals who are arrested for various crimes
. There are some individuals who have committed a relatively minor violation such as traffic violations will only get a citation and will be released immediately. The citation will state the date of his or her court hearing. However, for those arrested due to more serious crimes, they will be arrested and booked in jail until his or her court trial.
Those arrested and sent to jail will have to wait for their arraignment in which time a judge will decide whether or not to release the suspect on bail. The bail system allows the individual to be temporarily released from police custody while awaiting his or her court dates. The bail amount is decided upon by a court judge while taking into account several factors and issues. The bail usually amounts to thousands of dollars thus it is not surprising if an average individual will have a hard time posting bail. It is very fortunate for arrested individuals that they can seek a bail bond if they do not have enough money to post bail. Bail bonds provide the means for the arrested individual to pay a bond to the court. These bail bonds are issued by a bail bonds agency as insurance for the court that ensures the appearance of the suspect for court trials and hearings. If the suspect has appeared in court as promised, the bail bond will be refunded at the end of the court trial period despite the decision of the court.
The bail amount is within the discretion of the court judge. The court judge will determine whether the suspect can post a cash bond directly to the court if they they can post a corporate bond. A corporate bond goes through a bail bond agent. The bail bond agent will pay the bail to the court but charges the suspect or his/her family a fee that amounts to at least 10% of the total bail amount. In some cases, the bail bond agent will also require collateral on top of the 10% cash fee to provide them with some leverage in case the suspect decides to jump bail.
If the suspect shows up in all of his or her court trials and dates, the bail bond will be refunded. The bail bond company will also get to keep the 10% cash fee as their service charge.