If you are familiar with the American criminal justice system, you have likely heard of bail, as well as bail bonds. These bonds play an integral role in the bail system, but also often result in people losing their livelihoods and their freedom. But what exactly is a bail bond, and why would you even want to get one?
Explaining Bail
“Bail” is a practice that has existed since before the United States was even a country. Put simply, when a person goes before a criminal court and gets formally accused of a crime, a criminal court judge may decide to release someone instead of holding them in jail to await their trial. While a judge can choose to let them go for free, they can also require the criminal defendant to leave a certain amount of money or property with the court in order to secure their freedom. This practice is known as bail, and the money or property they leave behind is known as the “collateral” of the bail.
The idea is that, normally, if someone does everything they are supposed to, they get the collateral they put up for the bail back at the end of the criminal process (which may mean being exonerated, pleading guilty, or being convicted of a crime at trial). However, when someone violates the terms of their bail (usually by being rearrested or by failing to show up for court), the collateral of the bail gets forfeited to the court. By creating the threat of a major financial loss, bail is intended to encourage people to stay out of trouble and come back to court, especially if they would otherwise have an incentive to flee the charges against them.
What Does a Bail Bond Do?
A bail bond is meant to be a solution of sorts for people who cannot otherwise afford their bail. A bail bondsman will put up the bond as the collateral for a person’s bail, typically in exchange for five percent of the bond’s value. This allows a person to stay out of jail without needing to put up the high price of bail by themselves. This can, theoretically, make bail “affordable” for people who otherwise might need to stay in jail due to lacking the money to cover their bail.
What if You Violate Bail?
Bail bondsmen are not in their business out of the goodness of their own hearts. If someone violates their bail with a bail bond, not only do they need to worry about going to jail for violating the terms of their bail, but they also become liable for the full cost of the bail bond. This means that a relatively cheap option for satisfying bail can suddenly become much more expensive if you violate the terms of your bail agreement.
Bail in New York
Bail used to be substantially more common in New York, especially for misdemeanor offenses. Now, however, bail is prohibited for nearly all misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. This means that most people do not need to worry about covering the cost of bail. However, anyone who does fit into the narrow category of cases where bail still applies may need to worry about the costs, legal and financial, that they incur when they get a bail bond.
If you or someone you know has been arrested for a criminal offense, you will need legal counsel to help you preserve your rights and work to get the best possible outcome for your matter. A New York criminal defense lawyer, who is experienced in handling criminal cases of all sorts, can advise you of your legal rights and will fight for your best interests in court. If you or your loved one has been arrested, contact the Suffolk County criminal defense attorneys at McGuire, Peláez and Bennett at (631) 348-1702.
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I’m glad you mentioned a bail bond service helps you get out of jail by loaning you money for the person’s bail. I believe it’s important to be prepared to face any kind of situation, and you or a loved one getting into jail is no exception. That’s why I think it’s important to have a bail bond service at your reach in case of an emergency. I appreciate you helping me learn more about a bail procedure.
My friend is concerned with going to jail, and I’m trying to help him out. It’s good to know that he could benefit from bail bonds! That seems like a good way to ensure that he does things correctly.
I saw a couple of flyers regarding bail bonds around my uncle’s new home. I like how these bonds can help you get out of jail if you can’t afford to pay for them. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind and look for a bail bondsmen if ever I end up needing one in the future.
It really helped when you talked about how a bail bond helps get you out of jail. Recently, one of my friends was involved in a vehicular accident, and he had no money to stay out of jail. I didn’t know how to help him, so I think this information could help my family and friends know what to do during a situation like this. Thanks for the information on bail bonds and how they work.
You made an excellent point that it is important for us to choose a bail bond service that is legitimate. It makes sense as in doing so, we can be certain that they are able to advise us on the proper bonds. I will keep this information in mind for future references.
Thanks for helping me understand that these processes are to help the person get out of jail without paying a high price. I guess my brother needs this because he doesn’t have the savings to pay for such fees. He just needs to get out of there because he told us that he is not guilty of what they are accusing him of. I hope we find a professional we can trust as soon as possible.
I appreciated that you mentioned that bail bonds can make bail more affordable for people. My uncle is looking to get a bondsman. These were helpful tips.
Thanks for helping me understand that a bail bond helps a person get out of jail without paying a large amount. I guess I can suggest this to a friend of mine to help their dad get out of jail while the investigation is ongoing. I believe that it is just a coincidence that he is in the same location when the incident happened that is why he doesn’t deserve to be in the jail.
I appreciate you explaining that a bail bond is a sum of money exchanged for freedom. My uncle is hoping to get a bail bond to avoid going to jail for a petty crime. I think it would be helpful to hire a bail bondsman to see if there’s anything we can do for him.
It’s nice that you pointed out how a bail bond is meant as a solution of sorts for people who cannot otherwise afford their bail. I was listening to a radio show about legal assistance last night and I heard a bit about legal bonds. From what I heard, it seems there are agencies nowadays that offers bail bond payment services.
Thank you for explaining where bail came from and how long it has been around. My son was put in jail last night after he was drunk driving. I will find him a reputable bail bond service to help.
It stood out to me when you talked about how a bail bond is meant to be a solution for people who cannot afford their bail. If you can’t pay a bond agent at a later time, will they take physical items as payment? I would imagine that it would be a good idea to discuss the final payment when you are first meeting with a bondsman.
I never took into account the fact that the practice of bail had been around before the U.S. was even a country. It seems like bail bond services these days have been improved in a way that will benefit the defendant and the victim to secure the whole case until everything is finished. And I hope that more improvements will be made to prevent any issues during the hearing to keep the community safe at the same time.
Thank you for helping me to understand that a bail bond is for people who can’t afford their bail. A friend of mine was arrested last night because he was causing problems in public while being drunk. I don’t think my friend has much money, so I will suggest to him that he should get a bail bond.