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Integrity and trust are the biggest factors. You are literally trusting your bail bond agent with your life. That includes your valuables and the future of your loved ones. A good bail bond agent is a professional who needs to have the same level of confidentiality with your bail as your lawyer, doctor, or financial planner. Like those other professionals, make sure your bail bond agent is licensed. You should feel safe and comfortable when meeting with your bail bond agent.

There are four ways in which a person may be released from custody:

A. You can use bondsmen this means that you will pay a fee and need to use some form of collateral;

B. You can post cash for the full amount of the bond with the court or jail;

C. You can use real property (such as a home) with the court;

D. Lastly, the judge can decide to let the defendant go on their own recognizance.

Qualifying for a bail is similar to qualifying for a bank loan. Many of the criteria are the same. Often, you will need to have a form of collateral. At Cornerstone Bail Bonds, we’re able to offer financing for people that don’t have hard assets and want to get back quickly to their loved ones. However, since you may be dealing with a criminal charge, there are several other factors that are linked to your ability to qualify:

1. How much is the bond? If the judge sets the bail high, that increases the amount that needs to be paid for the bond. As with any other financial situation, the higher the price, the harder it is to qualify.

2. What are the charges? The more severe the crime, the higher the bail amount will be. Also, there are some charges where judges will be reluctant to issue bail.

3. Who is the guarantor or indemnitor (the person signing on behalf of the individual now in custody)? If the guarantor has good standing in the community, good credit, and hard assets (in case the individual in question should disappear before trial), the individual applying for the bail bond has a greater chance of approval.

4. The character of the person arrested is also brought into question. Do they have a job? What is their prior criminal record? Do they have a family? Are they an American citizen? Do they have a passport (if they do, then it is usually surrendered until the trial is over)?

All of those factors are considered when approval of the bond is in question.

There are five options for release of a defendant:

A. Surety Bond (a bail bond)

B. Property Bond

C. Cash Bond

D. Release On Own Recognizance (O.R.)

E. Release on Citation (Cite Out)

If you'd like a more detailed explanation of each option, please look in our How Bail Works Section, or call us for further advice.

What happens if the charges are dropped the next day or two after a bond is posted for me? Can I get my money back?

Once a court accepts a bond, the money paid to the bail bond agent has been earned and cannot be returned. It is the same whether the charges are dropped the next day or after a full trial. The premium on the bond allows the defendant to be free from custody. Sometimes the release of the defendant and the ability of the defendant to retain a competent, qualified attorney is crucial in helping a case resolve in the defendants favor.

The paperwork takes approximately 20-45 minutes, depending on the complexity of the transaction. The release time can be one hour or less for local police stations and 4-10 hours in a county jail. Please remember that these times are not guaranteed but general time frames.

The judges who set bail usually have several major factors they use when deciding whether to set bail and then at what rate. None of the factors alone decide the issue.

• Seriousness of the Charge

The more serious the charges against the person, the more likely a high bail amount will be set. For example, someone that is charged with armed robbery will have to post higher bail than someone charged with shoplifting. If the charge is serious enough (such as murder or kidnapping), no bail is set. The accused is remanded (held in jail) until trial.

• Prior Criminal History

If the accused has a prior criminal history, then their chances of having a higher bail set (or even being remanded) increase. Also, the number of prior convictions, their seriousness, and the time at which they were committed play into the judge’s decision. For example, someone convicted of shoplifting when they were a teenager twenty years ago won’t have as much against them as someone that just got released from jail for armed robbery. Prior criminal history means less and less as the crime gets more serious. If someone is accused of first degree murder, then their criminal history will matter very little in the judge’s decision. Once again, for less serious offenses, history plays a larger role.

• Prior Bench Warrants

A defendant that has prior bench warrants for their previous convictions has a much greater chance of their bail being set very high or being remanded until trial. Bench warrants are issued when a defendant fails to show up for court. The entire issue of bail is about whether or not the defendant will show up for their court proceedings, thus avoiding having to issue a warrant. It is possible that past warrants may have been issued in error or were issued for invalid reasons. If these can be satisfactorily explained by the defense attorney, the judge may remove the warrants from their consideration.

• Ties to the Community

A defendant that has strong ties to the community in which they are accused has a more favorable position in regards to bail. For a misdemeanor or less serious crimes, someone with strong ties to the community may even get released on recognizance. For felonies, those with strong ties to the community will often have a lower bail amount set than those without strong ties.

There are several factors that are considered to give the defendant strong ties to the community. One is owning a home or property and living with their family in that community (it also helps if the family is in the courtroom for the arraignment). If they have been a long time resident of the community, that is even better. US Citizenship and employment at a steady full-time job are also considered strong ties. An effort to hire a private attorney can also show that the defendant has a stake in sticking around to face the charges. Finally, if the defendant voluntarily surrenders to the police (without having to be arrested), it also shows strong willingness to face the charges before them.

• The Court Criminal Justice Agency

The Criminal Justice Agency (also know as the CJA or Pre-Trial Services) makes recommendations with respect to releasing each defendant that comes through the court. The agency makes its recommendations after interviewing each defendant. Obtaining a good recommendation from the CJA is a plus for the defendant, but the judges are not bound by the CJA’s recommendation and there is a lot of debate as to how much influence the CJA has in the judge’s decision.

• The Judge

The judge that handles the arraignment of the defendant is different than the judge that will later handle the trial. Since a typical arraignment judge handles 80-100 arraignments in a day, they aren’t particularly interested in getting to the bottom of the case. The arraignment judge isn’t there to hear evidence or conduct an investigation. They are there to take care of that part of the criminal justice process, which is to make sure the defendant is properly charged and to determine whether or not bail is set and at what amount.

Judges are given a large amount of discretion when setting bail. Their attitudes and experiences when setting bail vary widely. Some judges set bail in most of their cases, others release many of the defendants, while some others have a fairly even split. The less experienced the judge, the more likely they are to “play it safe” and either remand the defendant (as compared to setting bail) or set bail (as compared to releasing you on your own recognizance).

• The Prosecutor

The prosecutor handling the arraignment is usually an assistant and doesn’t have much more than a passing interest in the case. However, the better the prosecutor, the more likely a defendant is remanded or has a high bail set.

• The Defense Attorney

The arraignment can be among the most important few minutes of the case. Hiring a good defense attorney can be the difference between being remanded or having bail set (or having bail set versus getting released on your own recognizance). Hiring a lawyer to guide the defendant through the arrest and arraignment process can also reduce a lot of the stress on the defendant’s family. A private attorney hired in time for the arraignment can explain and monitor the process to reassure the defendant’s friends and family that their loved one is getting their due process. The earlier an attorney is involved in the process, the more they can protect their client.

If the defendant is not able to hire an attorney, they will be appointed a defense lawyer that is assigned to the arraignment courtroom. The appointed lawyers are not in the position to monitor individual cases from arrest to the arraignment. They receive the case last minute after the accused has been fully processed by the police and court staff. The appointed attorneys are often very knowledgeable, but their caseload and the lack of time involved prevents them from speaking with the police and the court staff in order to obtain reliable information about the case.

The attorney for the accused will usually provide their client with accurate, reliable information about their situation. That is of course dependant on the time of hiring and the extent the lawyer is able to communicate with their client while in the courtroom.

Collateral is some property placed within the bondsman's legal control, which may be sold in the event the defendant does not appear for their assigned court dates. The bondsman can then sell the property to recover the amount of the bond. Essentially, collateral is a way of insuring the defendant will go back to court and complete his or her obligation to the court.

Each bonding office will have their own standards but, for the most part they will accept as collateral:

A. Real estate

B. Cars

C. Credit cards

D. Stocks

E. Bonds

F. Jewelry

G. Personal credit

H. Bank accounts

I. Art work

Yes. We do offer payment plans for those who qualify, often interest free.

At Cornerstone Bail, we accept the following forms of payment:

1. Cash

2. Personal, Cashier's, or Traveler's Checks

3. Western Union - Quick Collect

4. Electronic Bank Transfers

5. Paypal

There are a few exceptions to this, but generally the premium paid on the bail bond is not refundable. The premium allowed the defendant to get out of jail. For example, if the defendant gets rearrested a week later, no refund of the original premium is allowed. If the bondsman fails to live up to his end of the contract, then and only then may you be entitled to a refund of some kind.

You will have to get permission from the bonding office in writing before attempting to do so. If the court has given you direct instructions not to leave the state or country you must then get permission from the bondsmen and the court before leaving. Otherwise you are subject to arrest!

When the defendant misses a court appearance, a bench warrant is issued for the person's arrest. The defendant's name is then entered into a nationwide data base (NCIC) as a fugitive. The defendant’s Bail Agency is obligated by law to arrest the individual as well. This will cause the indemnator to incur further costs.

There are times when a criminal case may take more than a year, however this is rare. In this case a second premium will be owed to keep the defendant out on bond. It may be wise to contact the attorney and try to get a bail reduction in the 10th or 11th month of the case in order to save the cost of the renewal premium.

There are remedies to this problem. Contact Cornerstone Bail as soon as possible so that we can discuss your options in full detail with you.

What happens if I think the defendant is not going to show up for court after I have already posted the bond?

Failure to meet agreed upon obligations?

Are some bondsmen less expensive than others?

Can the bail bond agent discount the fees on the premium?

What information should I have before I contact the bail agent?

At what point is the co-signer no longer liable for the bond?

What is the Difference Between an Arraignment and a Trial?

What happens at an arraignment?