What Is a Bail Bond and How Does It Work?
128,000 people go to jail each year in North Carolina.
And thanks to North Carolina law, everyone who is not charged with a capital offense has the right to be bailed out of jail.
But what is bail, and how is that different from a bail bond? How do they work, and how do they ensure an individual can be set free while they wait for their trial?
In this blog post, we'll answer some of those questions to help you understand the process.
Read on for more information.
What Is Bail?
If an individual is arrested and commits a non-capital offense (meaning an offense that is not subject to the death penalty), they have the right to get out on bail and to await trial out of jail.
Bail is set depending on various factors, including the severity of the crime committed, the individual's criminal history, and if they're liable to flee the state before their trial. Bail is set at a hearing within 48 hours of arrest.
Considering this, the court will name the price the defendant must pay to get out of jail. In most cases, the defendant will be reimbursed upon attending all of their hearings. However, many times the bail is cost-prohibitive.
For example, it is not uncommon for the courts to set bail in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. Most people cannot afford that, so that's where a bail bondsman comes in.
What Are Bail Bonds?
If the court sets bail to a defendant at $10,000, for example, and they cannot afford it, they can go to a bail bond agent for help. The bail bondsman typically charges 10% to 15% of the bail. If a defendant were charged 10% of a $10,000 bail, they would owe $1,000 upfront to the bail bondsman.
The bail bondsman will then collect collateral from the defendant. This can be anything from valuable jewelry to art to car titles to deeds to property, depending on the bail bondsman and what they agree to with the defendant. If a defendant doesn't have any collateral, they may require help from a third party.
Collateral is imperative because the bail bondsman will lose all $10,000 if the defendant does not attend all of their required hearings. As such, if the defendant fails to uphold their end of the bargain, the bail bondsman will claim the collateral.
It is up to various factors for the bail bondsman to decide if they will issue a defendant a bond for their bail.
A Bail Bond Helps You Stay Out of Jail While You Prepare Your Case
A bail bond can help you stay out of jail while you prepare your case for court. If you show up to all required hearings, you'll forfeit the 10% you paid to the bondsman. If you do not, you'll forfeit your collateral and may be imprisoned for breaking the terms of your bail.
Contact us at Absolute Bail Bonds if you're in the Raleigh area. We're open 24 hours a day.
