Know More About A Bail Bond Article

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Know More about a Bail Bond

A bail bond can constitute a quick and easy solution to an otherwise messy situation. Don McKay is the owner of McKay Bail Bonds, a Rockville, Maryland business dedicated to helping those in need of such services, and according to him, bail bonds are more common than most people think. In fact, they are often needed in real life to help those who suddenly find themselves in trouble with the law.

Author: Don Mckay

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If a person is arrested for a crime, he is generally placed in a holding cell and then taken to face a judge for a procedure known as an arraignment. During an arraignment, the accused party is given an opportunity to enter a plea, which will often times be “not guilty,” regardless of the facts of the case. After that, a court date must be set for trial to determine if the accused is telling the truth about his innocence. However, due to a number of circumstances, including court backlogs and limited resources on the part of the legal system, this type of court date will oftentimes be weeks, if not months away, from the date of the arraignment.

Significant Bail Amount
Clearly, it’s not necessarily fair to force an accused person to spend weeks or months biding his time in a prison cell while waiting for trial (hence the concept of innocent until proven guilty). For this reason, when the circumstances call for it, a judge can opt to release a defendant from custody until his court date arrives in exchange for a monetary fee, otherwise known as bail. The purpose of forcing a person to post bail is to motivate him to show up for his trial as mandated and not attempt to skip town. If the accused then shows up for court like he’s supposed to, he’ll be eligible to receive his bail money back; but if he decides to skip town, then he runs the risk of forfeiting that sum in its entirety.

A judge will usually impose a significant bail amount upon the person in question to truly incentivize him to appear in court and not just decide to forego the money at stake, Generally, the amount of bail that a person is required to post will be commensurate with the nature of the crime. A person who is charged with rape or kidnapping will most likely be forced to fork over a higher amount in exchange for his temporary release than a person accused of robbing an empty convenience store. Either way, most bail amounts are set in a manner that makes them highly unaffordable to those forced to pay them.

For example, if a person charged with stealing $300 in cash and goods from a local shop is asked to post bail in the amount of $5,000, then he’s not very likely to have easy access to that amount of money. (If he did, then he wouldn’t have to go out and put his freedom at risk to rob a convenience store for a measly few hundred dollars.) This is where bail bonds come into play.

Quick and Easy Solution
If a person cannot afford to pay his own bail amount, then he or his family member (usually the latter) will often have no choice but to contact a bail bondsman to arrange for a bail bond. Assuming the party in question qualifies for a bail bond, the bondsman will post a certain amount with the court to facilitate the defendant’s release and then charge the defendant (or, in most cases, the family member representing him) a percentage of the total bond amount – usually ten percent.

Bail bonds can usually be obtained rather quickly (often within 24 hours); therefore, arranging for bail bonds is generally much faster than trying to find another source for a loan (such as going through a local bank or using home equity to obtain a line of credit). All a person needs to do is have a family member contact a bail bondsman, provide the necessary information, and submit a non-refundable fee that usually constitutes ten percent of the total bail amount. Once that happens, the bail bondsman will take care of the rest.

Most people may hear the term “bail bond” used on TV or in the movies. Unfortunately, bail bond services are not limited to stories of entertainment only. If you ever find yourself in trouble with the law, rather than suffer in prison, have a family member contact a bail bondsman to arrange for your release.

About Author

Don McKay is a writer for Yodle , a business directory and online advertising company. Find a bail bondsman or more related articles at Yodle Consumer Guide.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-don-mckay-33122.html

Know More about a Bail Bond