Most citizens understand what bail is. It’s the money that the court system requires for the person who has been arrested to provide their release. The amount of the bail is decided by a judge, who usually will make the amount high enough that the arrestee can be trusted to show up at their court hearing. But sufficient enough that they are not blocked from exercising this option due to an inability to gather these funds. The 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that bail not be an “extravagant amount.”
The term “posting bond” is often used interchangeably with “posting bail,” which is understandable because the concepts are very similar, and the result is much the same for the arrested citizen. But to be precise, posting a bond means that many people can’t come up with instead of “providing an amount of money, ” especially when it means parking that money in the court system. At the same time, they wait for their day in court. They can get a third party to commit to putting up the bail funds should they fail to show up.
There is a form of bond that doesn’t require any money at the time of release but allows the arrested person to sign a commitment to attend their mandatory court date. If they fail to show up, they may be subject to financial penalties because they did not follow through on this commitment.
What is a Bail Bondsman for?
The bail bondsman has two jobs for the arrested person(s). Firstly, the bail bondsman is paid upfront by the arrestee with a portion of the bail amount. This money is not refundable and can be considered the fee paid for the services rendered by the bail bondsman.
Secondly, bail bond agents are usually skilled at keeping track of their customers and ensuring that they attend their mandatory court appointments.
What option works for any person comes down to their ability to raise the cash needed, and sometimes quite a lot of cash, quickly and at a time when the future is uncertain, given what’s happening to them. Bail bonds provide helpful and valuable services to people who do not pose a danger to the community during this time but would otherwise not be able to be released.
If you need immediate assistance with bail, call us at (303) 995-2886. We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.