How To Get Someone Released From Jail Using Bail Bonds

The Arrest

Once someone has been arrested and has gone through the booking and processing procedures, they should then be allowed to make a phone call. Generally, they will call call a friend or family member.  The person who was contacted usually then needs to to call a bail bondsman to arrange for release of the defendant from jail. 

When the defendant contacts a family member or friend, they ideally will provide the following information: full legal name, social security number, date of birth, the arrestung agency (police, sheriff, highway patrol, etc.), why in general they were arrested and the jail where they are being held. If they can provide their booking number and their bail amount, this will also help to make the bailing out process proceed faster.  All of this information is needed for the bondsman to get the defendant released as quickly as possible. If you do not have it available, a reputable bondsman will be able to obtain necessary information from the jail.

A Bondsman May Not Help

You might be surprised to find there are some instances where a bail bonds company may decline to take the case. While there are many contributing factors for a bondsman not to take the case, most often it is due to the amount of the risk involved in the bond.  In addition to the ability of someone to pay for the bond, the bondsman will want to feel secure that the defendant will return to court as promised.  

Bail Contract & Responsibilities

When the bond is posted by a family member or friend, they are entering into a contract with the bail bondsman. The purpose of the bail bond contract is to guarantee, to both the bail agent and the court, that the defendant will show up to their future court dates as expected.

Before anyone signs the contract, the bail bondsman will make sure the co-signer understands the commitment they are guaranteeing, and an ethical bondsman will not sign until it is fully understood. The bail bondsman needs to make sure the co-signer knows that if the defendant does not show up, he or she will be responsible for the full bond amount.

No Collateral Bail Bonds

The need for collateral depends on the bail amount and the risk involved. Sometimes just a simple signature on the bail bond is all that is required, while other times the use of a property or collateral bail bond will be needed. Some bail companies who only require a signature may request that the cosigner live in the area, own a home in the area or work in the area.  If a no collateral bail bond is important to you, make certain you are dealing with a bondsman that offers this.

Release From Jail

After the bail bond has been signed, the bail bondsman will post the bond to securely release the defendant from jail. Tthe defendant’s responsibility is then to show up to his or her scheduled court date. Assuming that happens, the bail bond is “exonerated” and no further contact is needed with the bondsman.

What is Bail Enforcement?

When you hear the term “Bail Enforcement,” you may immediately get a vision of Dog the Bounty Hunter. While “The Dog” may be entertaining, simply put, “Bail Enforcement” refers to “enforcing” the agreement of a defendant to return to court and appear before a judge in a criminal case where bail has been implemented. Many people assume this is the main job of a bail bondsman, but for the most part, bondsmen get defendants out of jail. Nationally, it is estimated that 98% of defendants released on a bail bond return to court as promised. Thus, a bondsman has little need to perform bail enforcement.

That said, what bail enforcement does, is enable the bail bondsman to return the defendant to court or jail, he or she feels the defendant will not go to court or has missed court willfully. Overall, bail enforcement is allowed in order to protect the general public by enforcing the court’s order to stand before a judge.

Generally, before any a bondsman will return a defendant to jail, Read more »

What Happens When Some Jumps Bail?

Question:So this is like in the movies when somebody jumps bail the bail bondsperson is involved because they’ve got a vested interest in this person making it back to court.

Answer:Well, it’s not like the movies, however, you are absolutely right… the bondsman has a significant financial interested in the defendant going to court because the person writing that check at the end of the day would be the bail agent.

If a defendant doesn’t show up for a required court appearance (called “failure to appear“), the bail bondsman basically has 6 months to get them back into the system – meaning in jail or in court. You should know that if the defendant was sick or they have a flat tire or something simple, we can get them back into the system easily without incident via a call to the court and simple paperwork.

However, if the intent of the defendant is to leave the country or leave the state or just hide out and not show up for court, then it is incumbent upon the bail bondsman and the indemnitor (the person who signed the bail contract) to get the person back into court.

Click to find the California Laws on Failure to Appear.

Offenses That May Not Require Bail Bonds

In some cases, when people are arrested, you may not need to hire a bail bondsman.  With certain charges, defendants are arrested, processed, booked and then released on a “cite out.”  A “cite out” means they are issued a citation and promise to appear in court.

“Cite-outs” are typically issued when fairly minor offenses have occurred, such as drunk in public or a basic first-time DUI.  The term “basic” means that there is no history of DUI arrests, no accident involved, no minors in the car, no leaving the scene, and there was no resisting arrest.  Most often, police will keep these offenders for approximately 8 to 10 hours for them to “sober up”, and release them with a promise to appear in court.  You may, however, need to hire a bail bond company and be prepared to post bail if there was a felony or serious misdemeanor involved.  (More DUI bail bonds information.)

The bail bond agent you contact should Read more »

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 Read more »