Bail Bonds Keep People Out Of Jail Until They Can Come To Trial

Bail bonds are a type of security that insures a client will stick to their end of the bargain. When someone is arrested and accused of a crime they always end up in court. It is the law that no matter how mild or heinous a crime is the criminal defendant has a right to be heard and defend himself. The judge will usually issue a bond which is an amount of money that the defendant has to come with or they must go to jail until the later court date or trial date. This is usually done at what is called a preliminary hearing.

The dollar amount is decided as to the seriousness of the crime. For instance, a murder charge may warrant a defendant 100,000 dollars. For larger bail bond amounts like this a bondsman can secure the amount against the person's assets. 10% of this amount would be what the defendant would need to come up with to get out of jail and stay out until the trial date. Should he/she own a home they could hire a bail bondsman to take out a mortgage against a home for the full amount of the sum. For the person charged and still has to work and make a living or to care for a family, this is the best way to go. Bondsmen or bond agents usually charge a fee between 10-15% of the total amount of the bail in order to post a bond for the amount for the client.

Now the client is out of jail on bond. The trial date is set. So what happens when the client does a no-show. The bond agent is allowed by law to track him down and bring him back to the jurisdiction of the court. This is where the name bounty hunter comes in. A no-show defendant now has what is called a bounty on his head. The bond agent is also allowed to sue the client for the monies forfeited due to the lack of show. Bail bond agents are pretty much a U.S. and Philippines sort of thing. Most other countries' requirements of monies are much less and bounty hunters are illegal. Bond agents are used not only for the court system but other companies use them as well.

AAA for example often extends the auto coverage for the client to include local bail bondsmen in the case of an auto accident that would end in the client being arrested. The American Bar Association and the National District Attorneys Association actually despise the use of bond agents. These agents do make money off of the people they bail out but these Associations feel that it discriminates against the poor and the middle-class. The bottom line is bail is a way to make sure a defendant shows up for trial. There are not to many people who would be willing to skip a court date and forgo their hard earned money