BailBondAgents.biz - All About Bail Bonds

The concept of bail, while as old as the English common law itself, has not always held the same status as it holds today. In fact, the English common law held that admission to bail was a matter of discretion for the court, not one of right for the individual. Abuses of this judicial discretion in England led to a ban against excessive bail in the English Bill of Rights of 1689. This prohibition was the direct forerunner of the provision in the Eighth Amendment that "excessive bail shall not be required."

Bail is basic to the system of individual protection set up by the U. S. Constitution. Without bail, a person could be held indefinitely, until it is convenient to release him. Bail bolsters what the U. S. Supreme Court has called a traditional right to freedom before conviction. It also permits the unhampered preparation of a defense and serves to prevent the infliction of punishment prior to conviction. Unless this right to bail before trial is preserved, the presumption of innocence -- which every defendant retains until proven guilty -- would lose its meaning.

Bail Defined:

Bail is the amount of money required by the court to release a defendant from custody and to guarantee his/her appearance in court. Bail can range anywhere from $50 for a simple misdemeanor to more than $1 million for serious felonies. The amount of bail is usually determined by a document called a “bail schedule.” A bail schedule lays out the bail for thousands of crimes from fishing without a license to aggravated assault to credit card fraud. Click here to see an example of the Orange County Bail Schedule. Despite having a set schedule, judges have a great deal of leeway in setting the amount of bail, so every case is different.

In all cases either cash or a Bail Bond (a financial guarantee) must be given to the court for security. When bail is set high, most will chose to rely on a Bail Bond Agency instead of trying to raise the cash for the full bail amount themselves. Once a bail bond is posted and the defendant is released, the Bail Bond Agency then becomes responsible for that defendants' appearance in court. If the defendant fails to appear when required the court will "forfeit" the bail bond and demand payment from the bail bond agency. The agency, in turn, will do what is necessary to return the defendant to custody and recover their costs.

The Bail Process:

When someone is arrested, the defendant, a friend, or relative will contact a bail bond company. During the free phone consultation, most companies will collect basic information about your situation in order to determine the risk involved in the bond and begin the approval process. The types of questions asked are typically what is the nature of the charges, when were they arrested, how long have you known the defendant, do you and the defendant work, are you home owners, how long have you been with your current employer, etc.

If you chooses to purchase a bail bond, basic documents will be processed and need to be signed. These including a bond application, Indemnity Agreement, and receipt. We can process all paperwork by e-mail and fax in a few minutes or we can send a licensed bail agent to meet the client at their location or at the jail.

After the paperwork is finalized, a bail agent will file, or "post", the bond with the jail which will result in the release of the defendant. Again, jail facilities vary in the amount of time to process the bond and release the detainee. From start to finish, this bail agency will generally complete the paperwork and posting process in 1-2 hours. For this service, the customer is charged a bail bond fee (generally 10% of the full bail amount, which is mandated by state law).

As the indemnitor (co-signer) it is import to understand that there is absolutely NO RISK in pledging any amount of collateral to a bail agency as long as you are 100 percent certain the defendant will appear in court and will not flee.

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