If a person is arrested for a serious crime, the authorities will not release him or her from custody unless they are confident that he or she will appear at all required court dates for hearings and at trial. Bail is simply an amount of money, real property or bond that is deposited with the court to ensure that an accused person shows up for all court proceedings. However, if the accused person fails to show up in court, he or she forfeits the total amount of money to the court. A magistrate may sometimes set a large amount of bail due to the uncertainty of a defendant's appearance in court and due to the severity of the offense.
Bail is a set amount of money or property value enforced by the judge before an arrestee gets pretrial release. This amount of money acts as a guarantee that the accused will appear in court for trial. If the person does not appear for arraignment, court hearings or for trial, the court demands for the full amount of the bond and issues him or her a bench warrant.
When a detainee is in jail, he or she has the right to a phone call to defense attorneys or bail bond agents. While in incarceration, detainees have the right to remain silent and not incriminate themselves. Also, depending on the criminal cases brought against them, they have the right to make bail.
Once a person is pulled over and the police have concluded that he or she is under the influence, they will take him or her to the local detention center. The arrested person will be fingerprinted and go through a background check. The detainee may be placed into a jail cell to sober up. The arrested person will have the right to make a phone call to start the process of getting bail established and posted as soon as possible.
If the police are called on a suspicion of domestic violence and they do make a house call, generally, they will interview both parties involved. From there, they will decide who is at fault and if they need to take someone into custody. In most situations, if the police are called for domestic violence, they are going to take someone into custody. A misdemeanor domestic violence charge generally requires a small bail, whereas a felony domestic violence requires a $50,000 bail or higher. Once an arrested person goes through the booking process, we can post bail and the arrested person will get out of jail.
When a person is taken to a San Diego jail, he or she will go through the booking process and will be put into a holding cell along with other detainees. In the cell, there will be a phone with a list of bail agencies to call. King Triton Bail Bonds can be found right in the middle of that list. When an arrestee calls us, we'll walk him or her through the requirements of the bail bond process: we'll take an application, we'll work out a payment plan, we'll advise that person of what is necessary, based on his or her charges, in order to get out of jail as soon as possible, we'll go out to a cosigner's house and get his or her signature. Once a detainee is cleared for bail, our bail bondsmen will post bail and the jail will start the release process.
In a felony case, similar to the misdemeanors, an arrested person will be booked into jail, fingerprinted and background checks will be run on him or her. A person charged with a felony will be put into a holding cell and will have access to a phone. When contacted, King Triton Bail Bonds will offer bond information and secure a detainee's release from jail.
When a detainee is released from jail on his or her own recognizance (O.R.) after being arrested, he or she signs a written agreement to appear on the appointed court dates. Otherwise, no bail is required. Release on own recognizance is usually reserved for less serious, non-violent criminal cases.
A person is often “cited out” the day after his or her arrest, meaning that he or she is released from jail with a promise to appear in court at an appointed time. A defendant is typically cited out for minor offenses and for traffic violations. The defendant must oblige by all of his or her court orders and hearings. If he or she doesn't or fails to pay the citation fine, it is likely an arrest warrant will be issued in his or her name. No jail time is required during the citing out process.
Although it might seem easier to use your own money for bail out, you need to remember you will not have access to these funds until the trial concludes and most trials are not speedy. Given the significant expenses involved in hiring a strong criminal defense attorney in San Diego County and mounting a strong legal defense, you want to have access to funds to avoid having to cut corners and compromising. In addition, if the criminal charges are for an offense that requires a large sum of cash or for a drug crime, the cosigners must go through another hearing to prove the funds were obtained through legitimate means.
Collateral is personal property, for example, a piece of land, a house, jewelry or electronics, that an indemnitor or co-signer pledges to bail bond services to secure the bail amount if the defendant will fail to appear in court. Collateral is returned to the indemnitor once the defendant’s criminal case is finalized.
In San Diego County, the answer is Yes, all bondsmen are licensed by the California Department of Insurance and are required to offer a bond service as prescribed by the insurance code. The minimum age to apply for becoming a bondsman is 18 and you must be a legal resident of San Diego.
The premium is the amount owed to the bail agency for the bail bond services. Usually, this premium is 10% of the bond amount, but King Triton Bail Bonds can offer a 7% premium. For example, if the bond amount is $25,000, the premium owed would be $1,750. The bond amount is the full amount of the bail that was set by the court of law.
First, the detainee is brought to a jail where he or she is put through the booking process. This may take a while as the background check performed at the jail is a thorough investigation that takes from two to ten hours. After the background check, the defendant's name should appear on the county jail's website. That enables a bail bond agent to access the necessary information on charges, the bail amount and any other information pertinent to the bail process. That is when our bail bondsmen can start working on securing affordable bail bonds and jail release.
All we need is the defendant's complete name and the county where he or she is in jail. If you will be co-signing, make sure you have your driver's license available.
When you call us, day or night, at first, we'll start the bail bond process over the phone. For immediate, quick release and a discreet process, our bail bondsmen can go to a cosigner's home. When we show up we will: go over the contract, verify that all the information provided is correct, go over all the payment procedures and explain all of the defendant's responsibilities. The application process takes about five minutes. From there, we'll run over to the jail and post the bail bond as quickly as possible, if we don't have somebody there already. We're going to do everything we can to get the detainee out of jail as fast as we can. Unfortunately, a county jail works at its own pace and pushing it might actually slow the process of being released on bail. Also, we'll let the cosigner and the defendant know when to appear in court and what to expect along the way.
An indemnitor is a person, usually a friend or relative of the arrestee, who pays the premium fee to the bail bond company and is a cosigner on the bail bond. After signing the bail bond contract, the indemnitor assumes several responsibilities, including guaranteeing that the person that is held in a jail will go to court and appear to all court dates, being responsible for all the payments arranged, paying additional fees in case of forfeit, and paying the entire value of bail if the defendant misses his or her court date and cannot be found.
Generally, once we post bail, it can take between two to six hours for the detainee to get a release on bail from a county facility because they have to do the processing and the background check again. If the detainee is in a local detention facility, the release process can be as quick as ten minutes once we post the bond.
Usually, the premium is not paid back. The bail bondsman does not make a judgment or determination of the alleged charges at the time of the arrest. The bondsman is just providing the bond business service of obtaining release from imprisonment, thus allowing the defendant to return home. The premium paid is the fee to the bail agency for providing that service.
The court may lower the initial amount of the bail and accept a replacement bond issued for the reduced amount. However, any reduction in the premium or collateral depends upon the bail company rates and policies. Please call one of our licensed and certified bail agents to ask about your individual case.
A defendant's failure to appear in court causes the bail bonds company to lose the bail money. The judge will issue a bench warrant and the bondsman will employ a bail enforcement agent, also called bounty hunter, to locate and bring the defendant to appear at court hearings. This prevents the bail bonding company from forfeiting the bond money.
Leaving the state or country while out on a bail bond is very tricky. In all cases, the defendant must get permission in writing from the bail bonds office before traveling out of state. In some cases, the court has given direct instructions to the defendant to not leave the state or country without its permission. If the defendant leaves he or she is subject to re-arrest. As a rule of thumb, always check with the bail agent, lawyer or the court. It is best if the defendant always contacts both the bail bond office and the court in all areas of travel.
A “forfeiture” occurs when an accused person fails to appear in a San Diego County court. As a result, a warrant will be issued for the person’s arrest and to clear the warrant, the defendant must reschedule his or her court date. The accused person must come into our office immediately and we will give a reinstatement letter that allows him or her to continue to be on bail with us, and that will allow him or her to go back to court. It is important that the accused person contacts us immediately to avoid being put behind bars. Our reputable bail bond company that serves throughout San Diego County regularly helps clients file these types of motions. If future court case appearances are met, the bond will be exonerated.
According to section 1299 of the California Penal Code, licensed bail agents may be bail fugitive recovery persons. They may investigate, surveil, locate and pick up fugitives at the direction of their surety company or another bail agent. The licensing requirements under PC 1299.04 ask that the bail fugitive recovery person shall be at least 18 years old, has completed a 40-hour power of arrest course, has completed a minimum of 20 hours classroom education pursuant to IC 1810.7, has no felony convictions and has arrest authority.
A reinstatement is a process by which a defendant who was supposed to appear in court as ordered but failed may have his or her warrants removed and bail bond reactivated or “reinstated” by the court. Reinstatements may result in additional fees that will have to be covered by the indemnitor or defendant.
A summary judgment is issued after a bond forfeiture or, in other words, if a defendant skips court appearance before the judge and fails to seek reinstatement before the deadline for doing so passes. Once a summary judgment is issued by the courts, the defendant must pay the bond amount set by the judge.
For our BAIL TO REHABILITATION program, we've partnered with several drug rehabilitation facilities throughout California. We can offer a seamless transition from jail to the rehab facility of your choice. This gives the defendant's family the opportunity to take advantage and take control of a loved one's arrest. We make it a condition of bail that the defendant stays in a treatment facility while he or she is out on bail with us. If for some reason the defendant decides that he or she doesn't want to be in treatment any longer, we have the ability to revoke the bail and put him or her back into custody. All the rehab facilities offer court facilities, so we are here for you and can make sure that your loved one gets to court on time.