Walk Through Bond -
If you are in danger of being incarcerated because of a
warrant for your arrest, we can help to avoid going to
jail by issuing you a "WALK THROUGH BOND".
Cash Bail - Cash bail means a person
must give the court the total amount of the bail in
cash. The cash will be held by the court until the
defendant appears to all of his/her court cases and the
case is concluded. Full cash bonds provide a powerful
incentive for the defendant to appear in court. If the
defendant appears for all of his/her scheduled court
appearances, the cash bail should be returned in full.
Surety Bond - An alternative to cash
bail is a surety bond. This process involves a
contractual undertaking guaranteed by an admitted
insurance company having adequate assets to satisfy the
face value of the bond. The bail agent guarantees to the
court that they will pay the bond forfeiture if a
defendant fails to appear for their scheduled court
appearances. The bail agent’s guarantee is made through
a surety company and/or by pledging property owned by
the bail agent.
For this service, the defendant is charged a premium.
Prior to the posting of the surety bond, the defendant,
friend or relative must contact a licensed bail agent.
Once a bail agent is contacted, an interview or
appointment will be immediately scheduled.
By involving the family and friends of a defendant
cosigning the bond, as well as through the acceptance of
collateral, the bail agent can be reasonably assured
that the defendant released on a surety bond will appear
to all of his/her court appearances.
After this procedure is completed, the bail agent will
post a bond for the full bail amount, financially
guaranteeing the defendant’s return to court as
scheduled.
With money on the line, the bail agent has a financial
interest in supervising bailees, and ensuring that they
appear in court each end every time the court orders
them to appear. If the defendant does not appear in
court (skips), the bail agent has time and the financial
incentive to find the defendant and bring him/her to
court.
Property Bond - In rare cases an
individual may be released by posting a property bond
with the court. With a property bond, the court records
a lien on the property to secure the bail amount. If the
defendant fails to appear in court as scheduled, the
court may foreclose on the property to obtain the
forfeited bail amount.
Release on Personal (Own) Recognizance (P.R.)
- Another method of release, pending trial, is through a
county or law enforcement administered pre-trial release
program. Usually, the employees of these programs
interview defendants in custody and make recommendations
to the court regarding the release of these individuals
on their own recognizance (i.e., without any financial
security to insure the defendant’s return).
The interview process is often conducted over the
telephone, usually with little inquiry into the
defendant’s background. The interview process attempts
to determine whether the detainee is likely to appear in
court. There is usually no verification of information
provided by the defendant. Since no money, property or
bond is posted to secure the defendant’s appearance in
court, he/she faces no personal economic hardship from
the conscious decision not to appear in court.
Release on Citation (Cite Out) - This
procedure involves the issuance of a citation by the
arresting officer to the arrestee, informing the
arrestee that he/she must appear in court at an
appointed court date.
The "Cite Out" usually occurs immediately after an
individual is arrested. As a consequence of the failure
to follow complete booking procedures, the true identity
and background of most individuals released on citation
is never established. This results in the release of
numerous arrestees who may have outstanding bench
warrants pending or who may present a significant danger
to society.
Accordingly, in those cases involving "Cite Outs", the
arrestee may never be placed in custody. Like the Own
Recognizance (O.R.) release, the defendant’s appearance
in court depends exclusively on the integrity of the
defendant voluntarily returning to court as ordered by
the court.
