Question about posting bail
 

The whole Michael Jackson thing made me think about this (set at 3 million). If someone posts bail, then goes to trial and is found innocent - are they reimbursed their bail money?

Not that i think Jacko's innocent. As you can tell i'm neither a lawyer, nor a seasoned criminal.

whoa. I never thought of that! I would like to hear more about this as well.

Bail is to insure that you show up in court. Even if found guilty you are refunded the bail money if you show up.

Another thing, you don't have to put up the full amount - in most instances 10% is all that is required and that doesn't hve to be in cash - can be property, etc. In Jackson's case I hope they require the full three million in cash.

bail bond companies also will do it - they charge you a percentage and basically loan you the money required to post bail and go home for the night.

cool - thanks guys, ya learn something new every day on the TFP

that doesn't make sense...why set an amount for posting bail and then not make the person pay that amount? am i missing something?

If you post the 10% and then fail to show for your court date, the entire amount becomes due and they've already got 10%.

That's how bail bondsmen make their money - it's a 10% <b>fee</b> for them putting up the full bail amount.

Example:
Your bail is set at $2000
You give bondsman 10% - $200
He gives the court a bond in the amount of $2000 i.e. he promises to pay that much if you don't show up for court.
When you show up for court, the court relinquishes the bond.
Bondsman puts his $200 (previously your $200) into his bank account.
So you paid him $200 to post your bail - you don't get it back

Yes - 10% is an awfully high interest rate for "loaning" you the money, but let's not forget that bail bondsmen's customers are not exactly the most trustworthy bunch of individuals.

That's why there are bounty hunters - they work for the bond companies to round up the "no-shows."

Er . . . or so I've heard.

yournamehere = Boba Fett?

oooh now i get what Liquor Dealer meant by it when he said in most cases its only 10%... thanks for clearing that up yournamehere! :)

Not necessarily. The 10% option is set by the court. They may set your bail at $30k and give you the 10% option meaning you will put up $3k. Dealings with a bail bondsmen are completely separate. The bondsman charges you a lot and depending on the amount requires some sort of security for it.

Bail is all about flight risk. It's up to the judge really to set bail. Both sides (defense and prosecution) get to present arguments for or against bail. Ties to the community, substantial holdings in the community, seriousness of the crime, previous criminal convictions, danger to the community, etc are all factors in whether bail will be allowed, in what amount, and if there is a ten percent option.

MJ can wipe his ass with 3 Million, i think it should have been more.. but being who he is and the way he looks, there is nowhere in the world he could run to and not get caught, so he will not be skipping bail

The 3 million actually is a bit high for the crime alleged. If you maintain the fiction that we all are equal in the eyes of the law, he should only have to post the average for similar cases. But then I think it would be an incentive for someone with his wealth to run like hell. Roman Polanski jumped bail after being charged with Statutory Rape. He still has not come back in the US.

Bail laws vary state to state, that is why you have varying answers here.

He got off light in my opinoin, and did he shouldn't have gotten bail as an option.

One of my best friends owns a bailbonding company so here are a few points that people have left out.

The percentages for a bond are usually 7.5-15%. In most states the percentage is fixed and decieded by the county's sheriff department.

The person that wants to sign a bond for you must fit certain criteria. Most bonding companies will require the signee to own a house, be 25 or older, have worked at the same job for 2+ years, and they always prefer them to be a blood relative.

At any point after the person is out of jail, the signee or bailbondsman have the right to cancel the bond at anytime for any reason. If the signee does this, they are charged a fee.

If the person does not show up for court, the bailbondsman then charges the signee the same fee again which is then used to pay the bounty hunter.

Most bonding companies will not bond people out of jail unless the bond is 5k or higher.

It is also worthy to mention that a Bounty Hunter is not restricted by the same laws that Police are. My friend's Bounty Hunter told me about his piece of equipment he has affectionately named "The Fecalator" (a 750,000 volt stun gun). He siad he likes to use it on whoever opens the door during high risk situations because it "sets the tone". Apparently a 2 second jolt in your stomach causes you to loose bladder and bowel control right then and there. Last year he used it on someone's mom who was yelling at throwing dishes while he was trying to handcuff the person. He then told me about the time he picked a guy up in Miami and was then driving back to Atlanta in his truck. Apparently around Ocala Florida the guy spit on the him. So he duct taped his mouth shut, taped his feet together, taped his feet to his handcuffs, then put him in the bed of his truck and closed to tonto cover. So the morale of the story is be co-operative with a Bounty Hunter that shows up for you.

All good points. The last one is really important. In many states, bounty hunters can even enter a home in which they suspect a bail jumper is hiding. No need for a search warrant, no need for you to agree that they enter. There have been many cases of abuse by bounty hunters. Both physical and mental to those they think are helping the jumper. Many other cases of damage done to property when searching which are never covered (say breaking down a door and the like).

i doubt it