How Is Bail Set?
Question: I’m not clear how the bail process works. If somebody is arrested for something whether guilty or innocent, they have an option to have bail?
Answer: Bail is set by the court system. Judges set what is called a “bail schedule” in every county every year and for criminal offences. Not every person gets bail because there are mitigating circumstances. The first concern is public safety and then they are going to look at the risk involved with the individual. That is why you’ll hear some bails that are multi-million dollars in amount. They are set very high and what they are banking on is that there is not really going to be the funds to be raised in order to bail that person out.
Let’s just take Los Angeles as an example. The average bail in Los Angeles is $20,000 to $25,000 dollars which is much higher than in the rest of the country. When someone gets arrested and they have a $20,000 bail, the cost is 10%, so the cost is $2,000 when you work with a bail bondsman. That is the fee for the bail bond, it is not something that you get back. It is just a straight fee.
You have the option of taking the full amount, say $20,000 to the court or the jail and then you get it all back in the end but you never know with these cases how long they are going to last and most people don’t have $20,000 in cash or cashier’s check that they can just take out of the bank to hand over in a moment’s notice or in several hour’s notice.
One response to “How Is Bail Set?”
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Tonya Page and husband Greg Rynerson
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I’m Maxx Green with A to Z Bail Bonds in Wichita Falls, Texas. I’m not sure what state you are inquiring about. As Americans we have a constitutional right to bail. Here in my County the Judge will set the bond the next day considering the circumstances of the charge and the history of the defendant when determining the amount of bail. This process is different in each County in Texas. I suggest you contact a local Bail Bondsman and determine what the process is in your area.
@ August 15th, 2010 at 20:23