what a bail bondsman does
bail bondsmen also called bail bond agents provide written agreements to criminal courts to pay the bail in full if the defendants whose appearances they have guaranteed fail to appear on their trial dates bail bondsmen generally charge 10 of the bail amount upfront in return for their service and may charge additional fees some states have put a cap of 8 on the amount charged the agent may also require a statement of creditworthiness or may demand that the defendant turn over collateral in the form of property or securities bail bondsmen generally accept most property of value including cars jewelry and houses as well as stocks and bonds once the bail or bail bond is delivered the defendant is released until trial disadvantages of the bail bond systemthe bail bond system has become part of the larger debate over mass incarceration especially of young black men in the u s the bail bond system is considered by many even in the legal profession to be discriminatory as it requires low income defendants to stay in jail or scrape together a 10 cash fee and the rest of the bail in collateral even before they stand trial for any crime the prison policy initiative reports that about 536 000 people are being held in jails in the u s because they cannot afford bail or a bail bondsman s services four states illinois kentucky oregon and wisconsin have outlawed bail bondsmen and instead require a 10 deposit on the bail amount to be lodged with the court in 2018 california voted to eliminate cash bail requirements from its court system bail bond examplesuppose that new york resident melissa has broken the law and the court has set her bail at 25 000 although melissa doesn t want to stay in jail while her court case is being reviewed she doesn t have the 25 000 in cash as such melissa decides to reach out to a bail bondsman to post a bail bond in return for their services the bondsman is paid 10 of the bond or 2 500 for the remaining 22 500 the bondsman secures an equivalent amount in collateral from melissa or someone in her family melissa complies with the court s requirements and shows up to her court dates so she receives the 22 500 in collateral back at the end of the trial 2 500 less than what she would have received had she paid the bail herself 