How To Help With Bail Bonds

If someone close to you has been arrested, then you might want to help them out. There are a number of ways that you can do this, but the easiest is often to assist in contacting a bail bondsman. If that is the case, then there are some things that you should know about bail, such as:

Whether Bail is Legal in Your State

The first question that you need to ask yourself is whether or not commercial bail is even legal in your state. If it isn't, then you don't need to shop for a bail bondsman. If it is legal, then you need to know what restrictions your state places on commercial bail. Some states have pretty strict restrictions, while other states essentially let commercial bondsmen operate freely.

How Reliable Your Bailee is

It's not a question that you necessarily want to ask yourself, but you should really consider just how much you can trust the person that you are helping with bail. If you help them sign for a bond and then they don't appear in court, you could be held partially responsible.

For this reason, you want to closely read the bond contract agreement, so that you can determine exactly how liable you would be if anything were to go wrong.

The Actual Amount of Bail

You want to know exactly how high or low the bail is before you talk to a bondsman. Going to a bondsman before the bail hearing won't be too helpful, since you won't know the amount of bail that you are dealing with. However, you might not know that bail can actually be modified after the bail hearing, depending on the circumstances of the arrest, the crime, and the trial.

Whether There is a Criminal Defense Lawyer Involved

If you have access to a criminal defense lawyer, then you might actually be able to reduce your bond fees by a bit. This could come in the form of a referral, since said attorney might refer you to specific bondsmen for discounts. It could also come from the bondsman, who would be happy to hear that a defense attorney was hired. By hiring an attorney, one is essentially showing that they intend to appear at court, which means that the bail bondsman can be sure that their investment is protected. In turn, this can lead to discounts on your end, since the investment is a lower risk for the bondsman.

To learn more about bail bonds, contact a company like Bob Shropshire & Sons.