Jail Bonds – All You Need To Know

Knowledge is always important in life. So if you ever find yourself in a situation wherein you, a family member, or someone you know, is detained after the following details will be helpful to you in order to know what you need to do. But first, let’s tackle certain terms that you will encounter furthermore such as bail and bond. The two words mentioned are words connected to each other but do not have the same meaning.

Jail Bond – It can also be referred to as just “bond”. This refers to the amount of money paid by another person, which can be a family, friend, or the bail bond company as the representative of the accused (learn more). The payment of the money ensures the release of the detainee so that he or she can go back to their daily lives while waiting for the trial.

Bail – This, on the other hand, talks about the amount of money the defendant needs to compensate so that he or she can go out of jail. The amount is set by a judge or someone with authority after the arrest of the accused. But do not mistake it as a punishment or a fine because it only serves as a warranty or collateral that the defendant will go back for the trial and will not violate any conditions upon getting released. Check out more information on https://bailbondsnational.com/.

Here are some factors that affect the possibility of a defendant getting bail:

• If the defendant does not have or has a minimal criminal history, there is a bigger chance of him getting bail.
• If the defendant has the potential to run away, there is a high possibility that he or she may not be given this privilege.
• Lastly, if the defendant is a threat to the safety of anyone, he or she will be denied bail.

Ways to be Released from Jail

There are different ways for the accused to be released. Some of this applies to those who cannot pay the amount independently:

Release on Own Recognizance or ROR – This happens when the defendant will sign an agreement which states that he or she will ensure the return for the trial and will be sure to meet all the conditions given to him or her. This is only applicable to minor charges such as traffic violations.

Personal Bond – It is also kind of similar to ROR because the defendant also signs a particular agreement. The difference is that if he or she fails to return to the court at the assigned date, he or she will be considered as a criminal and will receive the charges.

Bail Set with Terms of Release – This is the most commonly used option after the amount of bail is announced wherein the accused pays the it directly (or with a bail bond company if he or she can’t afford it). The defendant must go the trial in order to get back his or her money. If he or she hired a bail bond company, it is up to the company on how the defendant will pay for the fee.

Denial of Bail – Of course, this is also possible if there are factors such as the possibility of the defendant being a threat to someone and a high chance of failure to follow the rules and conditions given by the court. This usually happens if the person is suspected to be guilty of a crime that is punishable by lifetime imprisonment (or in some cases, death). Read more about this here.

What Happens If You Miss A Trial?

After all this talk about the defendant and other court procedures, another important thing to know is what happens if he or she misses the court hearing. It is stated above that the bail only allows you to go back to your life after being arrested. And that it also serves as collateral in order to ensure that the defendant will return for the trial.

Missing the trial does not mean that you will only forfeit the agreement. It also means that you can be charged with bail jumping aside from the original charge. Bail jumping can also be charged as a misdemeanour or felony depending on the original charge, which happens in some states. Also, even if you attended the first court hearing, if you missed one, you can be charged with a major legal offence. Check this out: https://www.justia.com/criminal/bail-bonds/bail-jumping/.

But before filing the bail jumping charge, the prosecution must be able to prove that the defendant missed the court hearing intentionally. In which he or she knew about the date and other details for the court hearing.

Proving his or her innocence is harder because the defendant must show strong evidence that they intended to go but there are circumstances that they cannot control that caused their absence such as being ill that the defendant is physically incapable and is hospitalised.