The main motive of the bail is to ensure that the accused person appears in the court for proceedings related to his/her case after they are released from the jail. When an individual is arrested for a crime, usually s/he is taken to a local law enforcement station for booking. Once the accused is arrested and booked, s/he has several options to come out of the jail till the court proceedings begin. Bail is a fixed amount of money, generally decided by the judge, which guarantee the appearance of the defendant in court for the trials. Let us know how a Bail works.

How is bail set?

Before setting the bail, the bail magistrate keeps the following things into consideration:

•    Criminal record of the accused
•    The seriousness of the crime for which the accused has been locked
•    Risk related to fleeing away of the accused
•    Whether the accused has any open cases
•    His/her family background
•    His/her employment status
•    Has the accused been charged with a domestic violence case? In such cases, the defendant may harm the victim after release.

What are the release options after getting arrested?

There are three basic options available:

Surety Bonds

Surety bonds are also known as bail bonds. Ocala County bail bonds in Fl are the most popular form of bail here. When a person does not have sufficient amount of cash to post a bail, s/he may take help from a bail bond company.  The process involves a contractual undertaking where a bail company assures the court that they will pay the bond in case the defendant fails to appear for their trial. In return, any of accused person’s close friends or relative has to provide collateral.  Once the process is done, the bonds man posts the bail. In return, the bail company charges a fee which usually remains 10% of the total bail amount.

Cash bail
Cash bail refers to the posting of the total amount of bail in cash by the accused. The cash is detained by the court until the defendant appears before the court for all his/her trials. Cash sum gives a strong ground for the defendant to appear in the court. Once the trial is over, the cash bail is returned to the defendant.

Personal recognizance
Personal recognizance is another method of release where the defendant is interviewed and on which personal recommendation is made to the court regarding the release of the accused. The interview process usually involves his/her background inquiry and in under this category, no bond or cash is posted to secure defendant’s appearance in the court.

Conclusion – Now you must have known what a bail bond is and how it works.