The judge, who looks at the defendant’s crime, their criminal history, and their ties with the community, determines the amount of bail a defendant needs to post in order to be released from jail. Most people cannot afford bail on their own so they seek help of a bail bondsman like the agents at Santa Ana Bail Bonds. The agent will work with the defendant and/ or a cosigner to evaluate how they can pay not the full bail amount, but instead the premium, which is 10% of the full bail amount. Once that has been figured out, paperwork will be completed and sent to the jail where the defendant is being held. The bail bond agent will post the bail bond. It may take a few hours for him or her to actually be released, but those few hours behind bars is still much better than days and weeks.
Once they are released, they are allowed to return home, to work, to family until the judge requires them to reappear in court. In order for this bail bond to be 100% valid, if you will, the defendant MUST come to court whenever ordered and must comply with any and all other orders and restrictions set by the judge, like performing community service, or staying away from a certain person or place. The defendant has to stay out of trouble. If they fail to show up in court or fail to comply with the terms of release, the bail bond will be invalid and the bondsman will have to track down the defendant to bring them back to court. The full bail amount will then need to be paid, and any collateral tied to the initial bail bond may not be released back.
It seems like a simple, no questions asked process but not all cases go without problems. Santa Ana Bail Bonds will do their best to make every case as seamless as possible.