Understanding County Bail Bonds

What are County Bail Bonds?

County bail bonds are surety bonds, offered by a bond agency to a court system, to effectively guarantee that an accused criminal defendant will appear at his or her expected court date. When an individual is charged of a crime they are held in jail until there court date or released on bail.

When a court system sets bail, they require the individual to pay a fee (often exorbitant) for the right to stay at home or out of jail until their court date. If the individual cannot meet bail, they can seek the aid of county bail bonds; these bonds are instituted by a bail bond agency or bail bondsman.

County bail bonds are paid by the defendant to a bail bond agency in the form of 10-15% of the original bail amount. All county bail bonds are established in a contractual agreement between the court system and the underlying bail bond agency; this contractual obligation guarantees that the defendant will either show up to his or anointed court date or that the 10-15% fee will be delivered back to the county or state jurisdiction.

When an individual pays for county court bounds they are free to stay at home or somewhere else in the county or state until their court date. County bail bonds thus enable the accused individual to leave jail until their trial. This process enables the accused individual to stay with their family or home instead of jail; in turn, county bail bonds decrease the crowding of a jail system and cut costs through the limit of food or other expenditures.

When county bail bonds are established the accused party has a guarantor to the payment of their bail. This relationship is made possible through the bail agency’s ability to ensure that the accused individual will make his or her court date. Additionally, if the defendant does not show up to court, the bail agency has the ability, by law, to hire a bounty hunter to find the fugitive and relocate him or her back to the jurisdictional system to engage trial.

Fees Associated with County Bail Bonds

As stated before, the fees associated with county bail bonds are established from the original bail amount. The percentage fee, which floats between 10 and 15%, will vary based on the particular bail bond agency and the state in which the agreement is transacted.

For exorbitant bails, typically those over $100,000, county bail bonds will typically require the inclusion of collateral by the defendant. In these cases, the accused individual will pledge a personal asset (such as jewelry or a car) which is then held as a security in case the individual flees or misses his or her court date; if this situation arises the bail bondsman will maintain possession of the accused individual’s collateral.

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