Most detainees in jails are there merely because they are unable to raise the required amount for their bail. That’s why it is crucial to use the services of a professional bail bonds agency. For residents of Placer County cities including Roseville and Auburn, California, Exit Bail Bonds is among the most efficient and effective bail bonds company you can rely on to get someone out of custody.
What are Bail and Bail Bonds?
Bail is an established sum of money that you pay to the court as a pledge that you will be present in court for all your hearings. In most cases, you are given an option to pay the amount in cash. However, the bail is mostly set at a higher amount which you may not be able to raise; thus, you will have to seek assistance from a bonds agency. The agency will post the bail bond on your behalf, in the form of a surety bond, before you are released.
Usually, you are required to pay a certain percentage of bail set or the entire amount. Where part of the bail is funded, the surety bond will act as an assurance that the remaining amount will be settled. The agreement also will guarantee the court of your later appearance for court proceedings. There exist two main types of bail bonds:
- Criminal bail bond. This kind of bond applies to criminal cases, and besides guaranteeing your appearance in the court latter, it also assures payment of the fines and any other penalties that the court will decide against you on the pending criminal case;
- Civil bail bond: This option is favorable to you if you’re facing a civil lawsuit and guarantees remitting of any underlying debt, inclusive of any additional fines, costs, and interests that are leveled against you.
Although bail and bond are used by many people interchangeably, they have different meanings. While bail refers to the money that you pay to the court to get out of the jail, the bond is a pledge in contract form that is posted to the court on your behalf so that you can be released. The posting of the bond is usually done by the bonds agency.
Arrest and Booking into Jail
The police arrest you when you are caught carrying out an offense or if they have suspected you of committing a crime. You are then placed in police custody before being transferred to a correctional facility such as the Auburn Main jail and South Placer jail in Placer County. In the correctional facility, the booking process follows. The process involves a series of activities that include taking your photos, recording any personal information, and surrendering any of your property. Your fingerprints are also registered to determine your criminal records.
Following your booking into jail, the police can take any of the following three measures. First, under the court's order, they can keep you in their custody until the fate of your pending case is determined. Second, they can release you in response to a written note promising to appear in court when demanded. Finally, they can hold you until you pay the bail amount required by the court. Among the three option, the state laws direct the court on which one to apply to a specific situation. Generally, releases on a written note apply to minor cases like public intoxication, disorderly conduct or minor larceny offenses. While waiting in custody until a bail hearing applies when you are charged with more severe crimes, such as murder.
Bail Hearing
A bail hearing is a court proceeding that is set by the court’s judge following your booking into jail to discuss the fate of your bail options. The hearing also determines the amount of bail payable. The factors that could reduce your chance of being granted bail are varied. For instance, an underlying criminal history, the risk that your release will be to the public, and probabilities of fleeing.
On the contrary, the factors that could raise your bail chances include strong ties to the community and the absence of any criminal history in your accounts. There are four likely outcomes of a bail ruling:
- Reject/denial of bail option: This outcome is common if the court views you as of high risk to the public or if your chances to flee are high;
- Release on personal recognizance: The court can decide to release you upon signing a contract that shows your promise to attend courts sitting when required and also abide by its conditions;
- Personal bond: The court releases you upon signing a bond stating that you will be responsible for any crime and often, the penalties associated with the crime if you fail to present yourself in the court;
- The setting of bail with conditions of release: The court may also decide to free you only after posting bail in the amount that it has set. You can remit the amount yourself or through a surety bond offered by bonds agency.
Beside allowing and setting the amount of bail payable, the court also sets some conditions that the bail carries with it. Among the requirements include the pre-trial check-ins that involve regular communication and physical presentation to the service officials. It would help if you also allowed the officer to monitor your ways throughout the period to ascertain your compliance with the bail requirements.
You are also restricted from traveling out of the area not unless you seek permission from the pretrial officers in charge or the court itself. Similarly, you are barred from using, possessing, or involving yourself in any case that is related to controlled substances, for example, driving under the influence of drugs. Furthermore, you are limited from owning firearms – a condition that applies whether the crime you are charged with involved the use of a gun or not. Other bail conditions include avoiding contacting or communicating with the alleged victim and the right to maintain or seek employment.
How Do Bail Bonds Work?
Usually, bail bonds arise after you have involved a bail bonds company. This often follows your inability to raise the demanded bail amount. The bail agency, through its agent, will require that you pay a premium, which is usually 10% of the bail amount in the Placer County Cities such as Roseville and Auburn. After that, the agency, by use of collaterals or securities, will secure your release. If you don’t have enough assets for security purposes, the agency will seek to involve your next of keen to aid in the covering of the bail. However, in most cases, the bonds agency binds itself to all the financial and security demands on your behalf.
If you abide by the contract, the collateral is returned to you upon the conclusion of your case by the court. The bail bonds agency keeps the initial 10% for the services offered. However, your failure to appear in court implies a breach of the bail bond contract. As a result, the court will give a grace period to the bail bonds agent to find and eventually take you back to the police custody. If within the grace period, the company manages to bring you back to the police, the court will not demand payment of the remaining 90% of the bail. However, if you are not found, the bail bonds company will use the collateral you presented to them to meet the court's demand. Searching and perhaps bringing you back to court is tedious and time-consuming. As such, surety bonds companies usually seek services of bounty hunters.
How to Contact a Bail Bonds Company
Bail bond agencies including Exit Bail Bonds can process your bail over the phone. Therefore, you can begin your bail bond process by calling us. This method is an advantage, specifically, if you received an arrest warrant before you are arrested. In such a case, you can notify the agency, who can then prepare themselves before your bail verdict. Also, if you have been arrested already, you can use the little time that you are allowed to make calls and notify the agency to get you out of jail.
The Role of a Bail Bonds Company in Securing Your Release and Monitoring You
Bail bond companies, following a notification from your relative or your attorney, start the process to bail you out. Through agents, the company will gather all the information regarding your situation. The agents, in most cases, ask you a series of questions that are meant to establish risks that bailing you out will entail. Among the frequently asked question are, where you are detained, the type of charges, and the length of time you have been in jail.
Once the bonds agent discovers that you have less risk of skipping court and that you do not have any government hold, they make the bail bond available for you to secure. The buyer of the bond will be taken through paperwork in which he or she will be required to sign an application form, the bail bond receipt, and the guarantor’s agreement. Finally, the bail bond is sent to the jail you are being held, and your release follows. Thus, by endorsing a contract with you, the company commits itself to meet the full amount of bail if you fail to present yourself to court any time you are supposed to do so. That is, it suffers financial setbacks if you forfeit your bail and do not appear in court. Since the bail bond agency risk losing a colossal amount of money, it will require that you keep in constant communication with them coupled with constant check-ins. It may also request that you accept to be monitored.
Can I Get Bail Option after Being Sentenced?
There are circumstances when you can still be given a bail option even after being sentenced. It is often called post-conviction bails. Typically, upon your conviction of an offense, you are expected to begin serving a sentence. However, the court can release you by bail if, upon conviction, you appeal your case. During that time, the appellate court will go through your appeal request and determine your verdict. The decision to grant or deny you the bail option is solely left for the court to decide.
Can I Get The Bail Amount Back?
Bail is neither a punishment nor a sentence. As such, anybody who contributed to your bail amount is entitled by the law to receive back their full amount if you comply with court orders. The refund is done only after the case has been concluded. The procedure and the duration it takes for you to receive your money depends on the nature of the charges you face and also, the court's discretion.
If you default the bail condition; for example failing to appear as ordered, you will be viewed to have forfeited bail. As a result, you and anybody who contributed to your bail amount will count the money as lost. The same applies where a property like a house was used as collateral to secure bail. The court will repossess the building, foreclose it, and auction the property to a willing buyer. This enables the court to get back the agreed bail amount. If you involved a bail bond agency, you are required to part with some of the fees and perhaps some collateral. If you comply with all the court dates, the bonds company will return the collateral back to you. However, unlike the cash bail from friends or those posted to court directly, they will keep the 10 % premium you paid as a fee.
There are instances that exist when you default on bond conditions — for example, failing to appear in court. As such, the company’s agents will be forced to search for you. Upon finding you, they will detain you and take you back into custody. The court usually grants the bail bond agents a grace period for you to be found. If within the period, you are apprehended and brought back to the court, the bonds company will not be required to pay the remaining bail amount.
Most often, agents find it hard to track you down. Therefore, as part of the process, they will be compelled to employ bounty hunters to find you. The role of these bounty hunters is to track you down, apprehend and surrender you back to custody. Bounty hunters are not police officers. Thus, they are not entitled to conduct arrests. However, while signing the agreement with your bail bonds agent, you agree to be arrested when you default. Therefore, upon defaulting, you should allow them to capture you and comply with the agreement you made previously with the bail bond agency.
Charges That Qualify for Bail
A significant number of charges qualify for a bail bond release. The type of bail bond given differ depending on the category your charges fall into. For instance, charges that are considered minor qualify for cash bail. Generally, the amount charged doesn’t go beyond one thousand (1000) dollars. Because of the relatively low value, the cash needs to be posted to the court promptly. Cases classified as felonies are charged with larger bail amounts. As a result, you will most likely require the services of a bail bonds agent if you cannot post the bail bond yourself. If your case is so severe, for instance, if you have multiple histories of crime or your release poses a danger to the community, the court can deny your bail request completely.
Get Bail Bonds Near Me
Exit Bail Bonds agency understands how stressful it can be to meet bail amounts that are set so high. That is why our agents are readily available to help you out. If you are in Placer County, specifically in Roseville and Auburn, we invite you to call us at 530-401-6364 so that we can understand your situation and offer our help.