When an individual is arrested and charged with committing a crime, he or she is taken to a police station for booking. Once the booking process is over, the accused will be placed in a jail cell. At this time the accused is looking at several options for gaining temporary release. Bail is something that is designed to make sure that the defendant will show up in court at the times specified by a judge.
There are three ways to gain release; putting up bail in cash, arranging a surety bond through a San Bernardino bail bonds agency or release on personal recognizance.
Cash bail: Simple. The accused must turn over to the court the amount of bail that was set by the judge, in cash. The cash is held by the court until the accused appears and the case is heard. If the accused does show up when specified, the cash will be returned.
Surety bond: An attractive alternative to paying the set bail in cash is to arrange for a surety bond. A surety bond is basically a contract with the court that is guaranteed by a San Bernardino bail bonds company. The bonding company and the bail bondsman agree with the court that they will pay the amount of bail in full in the event the accused does not appear in court.
Rather than having to arrange the entire bail amount in cash, the accused can gain temporary freedom by paying a premium on the amount of the bond. The bond amount must be backed by collateral with an aggregate cash redemption value equal to the amount of the bond. Collateral is often a house, vehicles, jewelry, a boat or other items of value.
Once this has been done and the paperwork completed, the bail bondsman arranges release, guaranteeing that the accused will appear in court on schedule.
