Bail Bonds in Los Angeles: 10 Things I Wish I'd Known Earlier




What Is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is an agreement by a prison defendant to look for trial or pay a sum of cash set by the courtroom. The bail bond is cosigned by a bail bondsman, who expenses the defendant a payment in return for guaranteeing the payment. The bail bond is a type of surety bond.
The commercial bail bond system exists solely in the United States and the Philippines. In different countries, bail might entail a set of restrictions and situations placed on prison defendants in return for their 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 docket.
·The bail bond serves as surety that the defendant will appear for trial.
·Judges usually have huge latitude in setting bail quantities.
·Bail bondsmen usually cost 10% of the bail quantity up front in return for their service and will charge further charges. Some states have put a cap of eight% on the quantity charged.
·The bail system is broadly seen as discriminatory to low-income defendant and contributing to the mass-incarceration of young African-American men.
How a Bail Bond Works
An individual who's charged with a criminal offense is typically given a bail hearing earlier than a judge. The amount of the bail is at the judge's discretion. A decide could deny bail altogether or set it at an astronomical degree if the defendant is charged with a violent crime or appears likely to be a flight threat.
Judges typically have large latitude in setting bail amounts, and typical amounts fluctuate by jurisdiction. A defendant charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor could see bail set at $500. Felony crime costs have correspondingly excessive bail, with $20,000 or extra not unusual.
The commercial bail bond system exists only within the United States and the Philippines.
As soon as the quantity of the bail is set, the defendant's decisions are to stay in jail till the charges are resolved at trial, to arrange for a bail bond, or to pay the bail amount in full until the case is resolved. Within the final instance, courts in some jurisdictions accept title to a home or different collateral of worth in lieu of money.
Bail bondsmen, also referred to as bail bond brokers, present written agreements to criminal courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they guarantee fail to seem on their trial dates.
Bail bondsmen usually charge 10% of the bail quantity up front in return for their service and will cost extra charges. 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 flip over collateral within the type of property or securities. Bail bondsmen generally accept most property of value, together with automobiles, jewelry, and houses as well as stocks and bonds.
Once the bail or bail bond is delivered, the defendant is released until trial.
The Disadvantages of the Bail Bond System
The bail bond system has grow to be a part of the bigger debate over mass incarceration, particularly of younger African-American males, in the U.S.
The bail bond system is taken into account by many even in the legal profession to be discriminatory, as it requires low-income defendants to remain in jail or scrape collectively a ten% money charge and the remainder of the bail-in collateral—even earlier than they stand trial for any crime. PrisonPolicy.org says that about 536,000 website persons are being held in jails within the U.S. because they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman's services.
Four states including Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and instead require a 10% deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the court. In 2018, California voted to eliminate cash bail requirements from its court system.

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