What Are Bail Bonds?

Have any of your friends or loved ones ever been arrested because they were involved in a fight? Were you running here and there arranging for an attorney so you could bring them back home? Read this article and you will get the information that you need to know.

When someone is arrested, it takes a long time until the trial date arrives. First, an initial booking is made where a charge is recorded against their name. They are then held in a cell for some time before being presented in front of the judge. If the accused enter a plea stating not guilty then they are given a date for formal trial and this date could be a few months or even years away. With the increase in crime rates, it is not possible for police officers to keep someone in the prison for too long. It can be very risky and at the same time quite problematic. Prisoners can easily break out of the prison and run away. This gave way to the introduction of Bail Bonds.

Family or friends post a bail bond and take the responsibility of bringing the detainee for the court appearance when the trial begins. This type of release protected the accused person from being detained until he/she was found guilty of the crime. Since their first appearance, bail bonds have become the preferred choice and are now part of the U.S. Legal System.

Bail bonds are surety bonds used to guarantee the entire bail amount if the accused party fails to maintain the terms of his or her release. The court has attached a financial incentive to return to court voluntarily. The amount of money attached with the bond depends upon the seriousness of the charge. For example, a person charged with murder will be given a huge bail amount.

How Do Bail Bonds Work?

The accused person’s family and friends draft a document where they agree to pay a certain amount of money as determined by the court, if the defendant fails to return for the trial date. Since most families are not in a position to post a bail on their own, they seek help from bail agents or bondsmen. The liability to pay is then transferred to the bail agent.

The bail agent obtains collateral from the defendant to ensure repayment for any losses the bail might face. The collateral can be anything of value such jewelry, securities or written guarantees of friends or relatives who have a strong financial standing. The inability to provide collateral that can commensurate a bail bond can make the bail agent refuse to post bail. On the other hand, if the defendant has been someone who doesn’t carry a criminal history, has a record of steady employment and has resided in the community for a sufficient time is a good risk.

The bail agents or bondsmen are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A lot of security measures have been adopted to make bail bonds work out and to hold the accused person from escaping town. In a situation where the person charged runs away, the liability comes on the bail agent. Bail agents hire bounty hunters or private individuals to track down the clients who run away. Those clients are then brought to the court. Even if the client doesn’t escape, but somehow fails to appear for trial, the court issues a warrant for his or her arrest.

Author Bio: All Day All Night Bail Bonds specializes in Boulder County bail bonds, but serves all of Colorado. For any and all information about bail bonds visit the experts at All Day All Night Bail Bonds.

Category: Legal
Keywords: Colorado Bail Bonds, Boulder County Bail Bonds, Bail Bonds

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