You have probably been listening to the radio or watching the news on TV and you heard that a certain person has been released on a $100.000 bond. Well, if you are not familiar with bail the concept might sound a bit odd for you, but do not worry we got your back!
What is a bail?
Put simply, a bail is a certain amount of money set by a judge that the criminal or defendant will have to pay in order to get released from pre-trial detention. And if the suspect manages to comply with the required trial appearances, he gets refunded. Now, what is tricky about bails is that in most cases they are not easy to afford by people in detention. In this case, in some areas in the USA and the Philippines, the jurisdiction gives defendants other options that they can opt for. Such as to seek the services of a Bail bondman. So, what does this bail bondsman actually do?
A bail bondsman also referred to as a bail bond company or agent, provides written commitments to the criminal justice system to pay bail in entirety if the suspects whose appearances they promise do not appear on their trial dates. To further explain, in most cases, the suspect or someone he knows closely would go to a bail bond lawyer to secure a bail bond. They will pay the agent a percentage of the total bail in cash and provide collateral (house, vehicle, etc.) for the remainder.
The agent will have a bond that will allow the defendant to leave prison while the trial is pending. If the defendant is present at all the trial days, he or she must pay just the cash charged to the bond agent. If he does not, the bond agent will seize the promised collateral. Also, it is worth mentioning that the services of a bail bondsman could be presented in various forms such as bail bond agent or bond dealer or in form of an agency or a corporation.
The aim of this article is to inform you about the bail bond system and to give you a clear bird’s eye view by checking both sides of the coin. Let us delve a bit deeper and check the pros and cons of Bail bonds.
Pros of Bail bonds
Bail bond agents are structured and straight to the point.
The bail bond lawyer guarantees that the prisoner reports to the court and takes part in all legal proceedings. If you do not know anything about the law and skip a court hearing, you are likely to get in trouble and even get arrested. However, before the deadline, the bond agent will train you for everything.
You get to pay money in installments.
This probably one of the biggest advantages of bail bonds, because you do not have to pay the 10% amount in one single deposit. You can pay that amount in installments for a while. Most bail bonds agencies sell flexible and easy to afford low monthly payment paid plans.
Bail bond agents know the procedures.
When it comes to law and order you must be diligent, and that is why bail bonds are efficient in this case. Bail agents are well educated about the legal procedures and they are capable to usher you throughout the entirety of the verdict process. In addition, they can guide you about how to behave and present yourself during the trial.
Now that we have looked at some of the pros, let us go ahead and look at the other side of the coin.
Cons of Bail bonds
Bail bonds agents might get you in trouble.
Yeah, you heard it right, even though they are helpful throughout the entire process, some bail bonds could get you in trouble. During the day of the trial, some defendants might get additional trouble just because their bail agent did not speak properly or was misbehaved in front of the judge, which may cause the latter to take some serious measures. Trust me you do not want that; you are already in trouble.
You will not get your money back.
Remember the 10% that you must pay the bail bondsman? well, you will not get those back, since your bail bond agent is delivering services and putting himself at risk. You are basically paying a firm for professional legal assistance.