So you have been charged with a crime. This crime may be classified as a misdemeanor or a felony. You may have proof that you did not commit the crime and that you are innocent. You may have committed the crime, but learned your lesson, and want to receive the least amount of punishment and time served possible. Lastly, you want to be allowed to await your trial outside of the jail system, specifically in the comfort of your own home. A lawyer generally helps with many of the first few points, but a bail bond agency is the best resource for ensuring that you are granted your bail time. A bail bond company ensures that you can await trial outside of the jailhouse, regardless if you can afford it or not.

You might be wondering, why do you need bail? Many courts or judges will set a specific bail amount to ensure that a defendant will return for their court date. It is their sense of insurance and allows them to let the defendant leave in the meantime. A bail bondsman becomes responsible for the defendant, ensuring their return by loaning them the required bail bond amount. Felony criminal bonds are quite common and ensure that you receive your right to bail.

There are different types of bonds available. Misdemeanor bonds will differ from felony criminal bonds. Generally, a bond is easier to get when the charge is a misdemeanor. A felony charge may be more difficult to obtain, and the amount is often set much higher, to ensure return of the defendant. Courts want to ensure that the defendant of a felony charge returns more than the defendant of a misdemeanor charge. Felony criminal bonds may also require some type of collateral or insurance that the bond will be repaid if the defendant does not return for their court date. A bail bondsman may accompany the defendant to court, ensuring they receive their money back.

Additionally, a fee may be charged to use the money for the bail. In exchange for posting a bond, the bail bondsman charges a nonrefundable fee. Usually, it is 10% of the amount of bail. By using a bondsman, the accused gets out of jail for less than the full bail amount, the 10% fee. But, the downside is that the fee is nonrefundable. Even if the defendant shows up for their court date and even if they are found to be innocent for their charge, they will not receive the fee back. The fee is simply a price for borrowing the needed money for the necessary bond. U.S. jails have operated at an average of 91% capacity since the year of 2000. Bail bonds allow jails to release prisoners to make room, before they are charged with any jail time. Some of them may never receive any jail time.

Bail bonds provide a lot of benefits to those who need them. A person has the right to await their trial outside of the jail system. Felony criminal bonds allow felony defendants to post bail, even when they cannot afford to. Between June 2010 and June 2011, nearly 12 million people were processed through jails across the United States. Bail bonds companies provide some relief to the defendants and to the jail systems, by reducing the amount of defendants that they are responsible for.