2006-11-02 05:57:18 · 3 answers · asked by Sunny 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
After s/he is arrested, a defendant may be released providing he or she can "post bail," an amount of money to secure his/her appearance for trial. In theory it is to re-imburse the state for the costs of re-apprehending a fleeing defendant. In practice it is set so high that a person will be discouraged from fleeing. Since most people don't have the ready cash to post such sums, they hire "bail bondsmen," who are agents for large insurance companies that post the bond. The bondsman charges a fee (usually 10% of the bond amount). The defendant, or his family or friends also have to come up with some security for the bond amount -- to re-imburse the insurance company if they should have to pay the bond because the defendant has fled.
2006-11-02 06:51:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bail is, in a way, like insurance... it is money paid to insure that the accused will appear at trial. If the accused fails to appear, the money spent for bail is forfeit and the accused is subject to further criminal penalty.
Thus, the higher the risk of flight, the higher the bail amount (this is usually directly proportional to the severity of the crime as well). If the risk of flight is too severe, judges will sometimes refuse to set bail, and thus the accused must be maintained in custody.
Hope this helps!
2006-11-02 06:00:43 · answer #2 · answered by disposable_hero_too 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bail - your gangsta bros come bail you out with drug money so you can go stomp on a couple witnesses and win your case.
In my opin, there should be no bail for violent crime suspects.
2006-11-02 06:03:46 · answer #3 · answered by boonietech 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋