Bail is the temporary release of a prisoner in exchange for security given for the due appearance of the prisoner.

The money required for the release of the prisoner is also called bail. When a person is arrested and charged with a crime they will be required to wait in custody for a sentencing hearing or post bail to be released while waiting for their court appearance. Bail can be paid by anyone, including friends, relatives or bail bonds companies to the jail.

Most of the time, bail money will be returned to the person who put up the money after the trial and is not dependent on the outcome either guilty or innocent. The only qualification for the return of the bail money is that the suspect must attend all court hearings and follows the instructions of the court to check in with a probation officer etc…Almost everyone in the state of California has the right to post bail. In very rare instances, bail will not be an option because of the nature of the crime.

Occasionally the court allows an accused offender to be released without posting bail. This is commonly know as “on their own recognizance.” Such cases are based on the suspects apparent good behavior and lack of criminal record. In these cases, bail might be required if the suspect fails to appear in court.

When someone has been arrested and accused of a crime, he/she will need to post bail in order to be released. Bail can be posted by friends and family or if the funds are unavailable, a bail bonds agency will put up the money for the bail. When a bail bonds company agrees to post bail, it’s called a surety.

When a bail fee is paid to the court by a bail bondsman, a 10% fee is then charged to the client. 10% is the maximum fee allowed by a bail bond company in California. The bail bond company is paid their fee when the trial is over. In some instances the courts will accept a 10% bail deposit if a bail bonds company is not used. If a client fails to appear at any required court date of other legally required appearance, additional fees will be applied to the bail amount.

Should a suspect fail to attend a trial or show up for a legal proceeding, bail bond companies will hire a bounty hunter to locate the suspect. Bounty Hunters locate people who may have skipped out on their court appearance or “jumped bail.” The bounty hunter will return the suspect into custody. Should a client jump bail, the fees will reflect the cost used to employ the bounty hunter and thus it proves expensive for the client.

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