subject: How Bail Bonds Help Defendants In Getting Temporary Release [print this page] Being arrested can be a very stressful and disturbing life experience. If a person is arrested for a minor offense, he or she is usually give a citation at the scene and they released immediately. The citation states the date of the court hearing for the arrested person. However, individuals arrested for more serious charges will be put in jail and they will have to wait for his or her court hearing and proceedings.
In many countries, an arrested individual will be given the chance to be released on bail depending on many factors. The judge will be the one who will determine whether or not the defendant can be released on bail and the amount of bail they need to pay to the court. The bail system allows the arrested individual to be released from police custody temporarily while he or she awaits his or her court hearings. Bail means the security cash or the bond given to ensure the appearance of the suspect in all of his or her court trials and hearings. The admission to bail is the mandate of the court that the defendant be discharged from jail. The bail amount will be set by a competent judge while considering several factors. The bail may amount to thousands of dollars which may be quit difficult for an average individual to pay for. This is where the services of a bail bonds agency will come to play.
The bail bonds agency will pay the bail to the court and may charge a certain amount of fee to the suspect or his/her family member. The fees may amount to at least 10% of the total bail amount. In some incidents, the bail bonds agency may even require collateral on top of the cash fee since they will need some kind of leverage in case the defendant doesn't show up in court. To purchase a bail bond, the suspect's family members or friends can look fro a bail bond agency that can pay the bail amount. The bail bond agent may need to consult with the suspect through a phone interview during which they will ask several questions to learn more about their client's situation.
If everything goes well, the bail bond agency will then post bail and guarantee the court that the defendant will be present to all of his court hearings and trials. If the suspect does show up, the bail amount will be refunded. However, the 10% charge fee will not be refunded to the defendant since it will serve as a service charge for the agency.
