Bail is money that a person arrested for committing a criminal offense is required to deposit as guarantee that he/she will appear in court for the hearings until his/her case is resolved. Although the amount of bail is based on a table in most states, it is the judge who has the final say about it. The court clerk is in charge of safekeeping the bail deposits and returns it to the owner after the case is over.
This should answer one of the most common questions in criminal law: “What is bail?”
Bail can be posted in a lot of ways but the most common practice of posting bail is in cash or through bail bond. A bond is a legal contract that requires a person to pay money if the defendant doesn’t appear in court for the hearing. The person who applies for the bond guarantees it with real estate or other valuable property such as a car.
Surety Bond
A surety bond, on the other hand is a type of bond that a bail bond company undertakes with an assurance that the defendant will be present on all court dates. The bail bond company takes responsibility for paying the bail amount if the defendant fails to attend the hearings.
An appearance bond is a type of bail that a defendant posts on his own behalf. It consist of the defendant’s written promise to return to court for the hearings, and promises to pay a specified amount of money if he fails to appear for the hearing.
In most situations, the amount of bond is higher than its cash alternative. It is simply because the judges are aware that bond companies accept less than 100% of the value of the bond as security. When the cash bail or surety bond is posted, the court may call for a surety hearing to ensure that the bail money came from legitimate sources.
Check out this video to know more.