can someone explain bail ??
okay, i have never understood how bail works in jails. i have a few questions # 1 - can you bail yourself out of jail if you have the money on you ? can you use a credit card ?
# 2 - why is it that sometimes people are immediatley released on their own recognacense and others have to post bail for the SAME offense ? # 3 - i have heard sometimes if you are arrested on a saturday you have to wait in jail until monday to see a judge and have bail set ?
i was just watching that new show "Jail" and some lady got arrested for possesion of pot and she had to wait 3 days to see a judge just to get bail !!! that kinda stuff seems outrageous.
# 2 - why is it that sometimes people are immediatley released on their own recognacense and others have to post bail for the SAME offense ? # 3 - i have heard sometimes if you are arrested on a saturday you have to wait in jail until monday to see a judge and have bail set ?
i was just watching that new show "Jail" and some lady got arrested for possesion of pot and she had to wait 3 days to see a judge just to get bail !!! that kinda stuff seems outrageous.
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quote:Originally posted by BarkingDog
okay, i have never understood how bail works in jails. i have a few questions #
quote:1 - can you bail yourself out of jail if you have the money on you ? can you use a credit card ?
I dont think So
quote:# 2 - why is it that sometimes people are immediatley released on their own recognacense and others have to post bail for the SAME offense ?
Past criminal record will play a big part of it
quote:# 3 - i have heard sometimes if you are arrested on a saturday you have to wait in jail until monday to see a judge and have bail set ?
Yes very possible, Thus the expression "three hots and a cot"
quote:i was just watching that new show "Jail" and some lady got arrested for possesion of pot and she had to wait 3 days to see a judge just to get bail !!! that kinda stuff seems outrageous.
gotta pay to play0 -
#1: No. All personal items that are not "evidence" is placed in a property bag, including cash, CC. You get it back upon release.
You can't use your own money.
#2: Certain people (celebreties, VIPs, the rich, etc.) are often released on their own recog. if a judge agrees.
#3: Cop busts and charges. Law dictates bail amount if its a bondable offense based on actual charges. Bail is set. You get your phone call...call a relative to bail you out or a bondsman.
4#: Weekends don't matter (at least in big cities). The example you gave waiting 3 days may have been due to the offender's priors. In which case the jailers let the judge set the bail terms.0 -
Bail is a financial guarantee that assures your appearance in court to answer charges against you. Yes, you can post bail yourself- in the form of money, or in some cases, real property. You show up at place/time specified, you get money back. No show, it is forfeited to court, and judge issues a warrant (or a capias) for your arrest. A bail bondsman speaks on your behalf- he guarantees your appearance. For that privilege, you pay him- generally 10% of the guaranteed bail. You no get that back. No show, he come get you- you are his property. You no show, HE has to pay court your stated bail. And you are now a fugitive subject to arrest. Why are some folks released on own recog? They have demonstrated they are not a flight risk. Good character, employed, connected to community, etc. In some cases bail may be set by a judge, in some cases by a magistrate (justice of the peace). Depends on the crime- was it disorderly conduct, or felonious assualt? My bill for legal education will be in mail. Cash only, please, no credit cards. (And most courts will not accept credit cards, some bondsmen MAY- but they don't like that 3% charge from VISA either) 0 -
3 hots and cot doesn't mean you spend the weekend. It means 3 hot meals a day and a place to sleep. 0 -
If you get arrested,.......you need it![8D] 0 -
i was a bond agent/bounty for a few years i bonded out people from offenses ranging from "failure to return rental property" {a damn vhs movie from a rental store} to attempted murder, i refused rapist and pedophiles
each municipality has its own rules although most guide lines are the same, yes some you can bail yourself out with the money in your pocket, some may take mc/visa, but i have never seen one take a personal check
"set bail" typically a misdemeanor, it is a list of frequent crimes set bail is designed not to clog up the system and spend money keeping you in jail till you see a judge
more serious crimes your seeing a judge, contrary to belief judges are not on call for criminals convenience 24 hours a day, you will see the judge at their convenience not yours, so don't go to jail on a friday, other crimes they can take up to 72 hours before you get a bail hearing so the prosecuting attorney can get their case in order
recognisance bond,{your promise to appear} typically allowed for those with little or no criminal history combined with whether you have a job/home/ stable life, depending on the crime as well
surety bond, this is where a bond agent actually put up a surety{check} for the full amount of the bond, you pay him typically non refundable 10% of the original amount, he may or may not require collateral, you do not show he gets a warning to get your but in there or their cashing the check{whole nother long thread there}
10% some states such as Illinois do not recognize surety bonds, you may or may not pay the 10% , in some cases it may be refunded or applied towards a fine0 -
All the above exception as noted.
If you pay your own bail. You pay the face amount (if bail is $2,000.00 you put up the $2,000.00). If you use a bail bondsman you pay him 10% or $200.00 and he writes the bond for $2,000.00 to the courts. If you make all your appearances he gets his bond back, but you don't get your $200.00 back. Bondsman keeps that for writing the bond.
Bondsman may ask for real or personal property for the 10%, or in some worst cases for the entire amount. But he will keep 10% for his troubles.
Credit Card varies from court to court and state to state. bondsman may take a CC if the courts don't.
To find out hows it works for your area you just have to call the courts or a bondsman.0 -
quote:To find out hows it works for your area you just have to call the courts or a bondsman.
Or,..........don't get arrested!0 -
quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
quote:To find out hows it works for your area you just have to call the courts or a bondsman.
Or,..........don't get arrested!
exactly, you can research it all you want, your bail will be what it is going to be there is no negotiation0 -
quote:Originally posted by 1911a1fan
quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
quote:To find out hows it works for your area you just have to call the courts or a bondsman.
Or,..........don't get arrested!
exactly, you can research it all you want, your bail will be what it is going to be there is no negotiation
Exactly, of course the one time I got arrested they would not let me bail. They said I got belligerent. Y'all know me better than that. Don0 -
I think it all depends on where you are and who you are and what you did.
I was in jail and a big ol drunken coked up cowboy baild his self out with the money in his pocket, and it was several thousand dollars.
I got out when a friend put up a few hundred dollars.
Onetime I put up a car title to get a friend out, when he apperd I got my title back.0 -
quote:Originally posted by 1911a1fan
...there is no negotiation
Only litigation!0 -
The Magistrate in Greensboro, NC dropped my bail from $1,000.00 to $500.00 to $100.00 in 1964 because I kept saying "Lock me up. I ain't gonna pay it."
When he got to $100.00 the sergeant said "You better take it. He won't go any lower." I was still in the "Lock me up" mode, but my wife (girlfriend at the time) talked me into posting the $100.00.
When I went to court I got the $100.00 back, but the judge got into my other pocket. That was a whole different rip-off.0 -
It's a racket, at least here in Texas. They put up the money (not real money, but a promise to pay) but assume NO RISK. None at all. There are no "bounty hunters." If the defendant skips, or even if the bonding agent just gets nervous and wants off the bond, the judge issues a warrant, and guess who gets to go get the defendant? Right. The police, that's who. We arrested the SOB to start with. It SHOULD be up to the bondsman to get the defendant back in front of the judge.
I have no use for bondsmen. They are just about as useful to society as teats are to a boar hog.0 -
It varries somewhat from state to state.
In Illinois you can bond yourself out if you have the cash on you or it is possible to use a credit card if the facility is equiped to take CC's.
In low level Misd. cases there is a standard bond. In Cities with their own Ordiance courts, it is not uncommon to get an instant recog.
During bond court in my neck of the woods recogs are not uncommon if the person has a place to live, a job and does not have a significant record.
Felonies and certain Misd. (Dom Battery) charges require bond being set by the judge. If you were unlucky enough to get arrested on Saturday, then you get to wait till Monday to appear.0 -
your own recognisance is getting out of jail without paying, but a judge has to ok it or the sheriff not sure.
you can bail your self out if you call a bail bondsmen but if you have the money on you they may or may not let you it depends on the police dept.
And last but least if there is no judge then you may have to wait over the weekend. it happens you do the crime you do the time.0 -
10% of bond, if u use a "bondsman".
Jeff0
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