Persons charged with minor crimes can usually come out of jail soon after arrest because police can ascertain the bail amount immediately by using the bail chart available with them. Soon upon furnishing the bail amount, the arrested person or defendant can walk out from police custody. However, such instances are few and most defendants must wait for appearing before a judge who fixes the bail amount by considering the charges and various other factors. Regardless of the manner of setting bail, the defendant must act fast to post bail for getting out of custody at the soonest. Castle Bail Bonds Montgomery County is a convenient option for posting bails instead of paying cash for the bail amount and a licensed bail bondsman or bail agent can act as a surety for the defendant to secure the release.

The dual objectives of bail

Bail is a legal right of defendants to seek early release from jail soon after arrest while assuring the court about fulfilling the bail conditions, the most important being appearing in court for hearing when called. The concept of bail originates from the legal principle that no one is guilty unless proved. Since one must wait for appearing in the trial, the law gives the benefit of the doubt to the defendant by providing an option for early release from jail.

Bail fulfills another objective of the administration and government by avoiding overcrowding of jails. If there had not been any provision for releasing under trial persons, prisons would be overcrowded, and at some time, there would be no capacity left for holding people in jail. Jails are mainly meant for convicts and not for undertrials.

Collateral is a must for bail bonds

The bail bondsman or agent takes complete responsibility for posting bail in exchange for a small fee, usually 10% of the bail amount but plays a much more significant role by acting as a surety for the arrested person. Although the defendant is a stranger to the bail agent, the latter is ready to take many risks to serve as the surety.  Should the client jump bail or turn a fugitive, the bail agent would be responsible while the court forfeits the bail amount and initiates new charges against the defendant who faces arrest.

To take care of any eventualities and cover the risks, bail agents ask defendants to provide collateral for the entire bail amount, which can be pretty high. Although the upfront payment for posting bail is only 10% of the bail amount, providing collateral like some movable or immovable assets is necessary for posting bail bonds.

The courts welcome bail bonds

The courts too prefer bail bonds over cash because the bail agent takes all measures to ensure that the defendant abides by bail conditions and appears in court for trial. Bail bonds are more effective deterrents because the stakes are quite high for the defendant who provides collateral to the bail agent.

Because the defendants would lose their collaterals, too, they would typically not do it if they jumped bail.