Should I Post Bail For A Friend?

You absolutely should post bail for someone you love, know, trust, care about and don’t want to see stay in jail for any longer than they have to. Jail can be a dangerous and scary place to be. Posting bail will allow the defendant to get their home, family, work or school responsibilities in order. They will also have more time to gather their legal team or public defender to appear in court with them on their court dates.

Having said that, it’s also important to realize the amount of responsibility that comes along with posting bail for a defendant. There are contracts and agreements to sign in order to move forward with posting bail. In these contracts, a friend or family member will provide the guarantee that the total bail amount will be ‘paid in full’ should the defendant fail to appear for their court dates. Once all paperwork is signed, the bail bondsman will post the bond at the jail. This is what is called a ’surety bond’ which guarantees the court that the defendant will return for every arraignment.

When Not To Post Bail

You probably should not post bail for someone you are not absolutely confident will show up for court, or do not know very well. If they ‘skip bail’, you would be on the hook for the entire bail amount. If you secured the bail with property collateral, you could lose that too.

If the crime that was committed is very serious, the bail amount can be much higher. In some cases, the bail amount may be set so high that the family members or defendant simply cannot post a bond.  In that case, the defendant must remain in jail until their upcoming arraignment.

Additionally, if the bail bondsman doesn’t feel you know the defendant very well, you may be advised to not move forward with posting the bond. The bail bondsman will consider all factors and analyze the risk of taking on the bond prior moving forward with you.

Why Post Bail

• To allow the defendant to get back to work, school or family responsibilities
• To allow the defendant time to acquire legal assistance if needed
• To provide a safer alternative than remaining in jail

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