Sometimes our loved ones need us for help when they are in trouble with the court. You, on the other hand, probably have no clue about what needs to be done yourself. The only thing you can do is bail them out, and this can be done with the help of a bail bondsman.
Besides paying a legal company to do all the work for you, it is also important for you to understand which bonds can be used when. This would also entail having a reasonable understanding of your responsibilities after signing a bail bond contract.
WHAT ARE BAIL BONDS?
Bail bonds are quite like insurance, and they work like a promise to the court that the accused will appear in front of the magistrate on a predefined court date. If you are arranging for and signing the contract for the bail bond, you (or the bail bondsman you’re working with) will be known as the ‘indemnitor.’ Therefore, it is your job to get your family member or friend out of jail as quickly as possible and make sure the defendant attends all the court dates.
Bail bonds, also known as surety bonds, are especially useful when the defendant cannot afford to pay their bail. This is why these types of bail have a relative or friend contact a bail bondsman or bail agent. This agent, in turn, will be backed by a surety company, which is a special kind of insurance company.
With a relative or friend of the accused involved, the defendant mostly feels compelled to appear for their hearings, considering the cost of the bond and collaterals involved. Naturally, the bail agent is also accountable if the defendant decides to skip court.
With that cleared up, it is time for us to discuss 5 of the most important bail bonds to get someone out of police custody as soon as possible. We’re going to be discussing all the important details regarding:
- Appeal Bonds (Supersedeas Bonds)
- Habeas Corpus Bonds (if your freedom is restricted against your constitutional rights)
- Extradition Bonds
- Civil Contempt Bonds
- Ne Exeat Bonds (if a parent doesn’t adhere to the child custody or divorce settlement agreement)
APPEAL BONDS (SUPERSEDEAS BONDS)
Appeal Bonds are simply the amount of money that will be placed in holding while the defendant’s appeal is in the process of being decided. This bond will be supplied as an appeal to the judgment of the lower court and have you paying as much as the original judgment (even though it could be a lot more).
THE BREAKDOWN
Also known as Supersedeas Bonds, these bonds allow a losing party to appeal their case to a higher court after the ruling. When the case is transferred to the higher court, they will review all the issues that were objected by the lower court during their initial trial. In other words, there won’t be any new evidence, but you should know that appeals can take a longer time to be resolved. In some cases, this can also be years; during this period, the defendant will pay for all the legal fees and costs related to their case. Since there is a chance that the defendant will go bankrupt during this time, they are required to sign the Appeal Bond.
THE COST
The amount of the Appeal Bond is usually discussed earlier on in the case because a defendant only has a few weeks after a judgment to sign their contract. Also, the amount tied to the bond has a chance of being significantly higher than the ruling because it will cover other costs and interests tied up with the appeal process.
Another important point of discussion is that the cost of the appeal bond varies by state. For instance, in California, the Appeal Bond should be 150% higher than the original amount of judgment. In Florida, this amount is capped at no more than $50 million per defendant. Besides this, the appellant should also be able to come up with collaterals that are on par with the original amount of the bond. This collateral will be placed with the surety company.
HABEAS CORPUS BONDS
The writ of Habeas Corpus is simply a legal document, which claims that the defendant’s freedom is being restricted against their constitutional rights because they are on a bond bail or in jail. There are two basic types of Habeas Corpus Bonds, and these include the post-conviction and pretrial writs. They are both quite different, so let’s discuss them individually.
PRETRIAL WRITS
A pretrial Habeus Corpus Bond is filed before trial or before your loved one’s conviction. Many different arguments can be brought forward with the help of this bond.
As mentioned above, Appeal Bonds can be unreasonably high, and you’ll be surprised to find that the Texas Constitution allows the defendant’s bond to be set high – just to keep them in jail. Several factors go into setting the cost of the defendant’s bond. For instance, someone with no criminal history was charged with robbery, and their judge set the bond at a whopping $500,000. Generally speaking, this bond has been set very high, especially based on the fact that this person did not have a criminal history.
To lower the cost of this bond, your lawyer can file for Pretrial Habeas Corpus Bonds just so your loved one can come back home. Some less common forms of the same bond can be used to form an argument that the prosecution is barred by double jeopardy, the statute of limitations has been run, or that they were charged with something unconstitutional in the first place.
POST-CONVICTION WRITS
This is a form of Habeas Corpus Bonds for arguing that the defendant’s conviction had violated some of their constitutional rights. The most common use of this is when your habeas lawyer argues that your initial trial lawyer didn’t make a good enough case, and it leads to the jury making a guilty verdict.
Using Habeas Corpus Bonds, your new lawyer will take the previous lawyer’s case into account and bring about newly discovered evidence to overturn the initial verdict.
EXTRADITION BONDS
When someone was arrested for a crime, they are required to stand for trial in the state the offense had been committed. It is normal for defendants to consciously skip their jail time and evade unfair prosecution by bringing in a certified bond agent for Extradition Bonds
DOES THAT MAKE YOU A FUGITIVE?
No, it doesn’t. Legally speaking, a suspect who flees or evades prosecution is called a fugitive. If they are being charged with the case and granted bail with Extradition Bonds, the defendant will only be required to be in the state for the court hearings that were stipulated by the magistrate or judge. Missing these court hearings will, however, make the defendant a fugitive, and the judge will swiftly issue a re-arrest.
BARRIERS TO EXTRADITION
Extradition Bonds may be your way out, but there can be several reasons why your extradition may be denied. One of these reasons can be when the paperwork for extradition doesn’t contain errors or is incomplete. You should keep in mind, however, that it is very rare for such clerical errors to be present, and hence, the extradition request can be reissued.
Another barrier to extradition is the expense and time required by the whole process. It isn’t uncommon for a state to decide against pursuing a fugitive. Typically, they go after individuals who pose a great risk to communities or after those who may have fled for some serious charges.
CIVIL CONTEMPT BONDS
Contempt of court signifies an individual’s disregard and willful disobedience for court orders or even their misconduct in the court. There are two types of contempt, and we’re only going to be talking about civil contempt of court.
Civil contempt of court occurs when an individual willfully disobeys the direct order of the court. Civil contempt is also called indirect contempt because it happens when the judge isn’t present. This is also why the evidence should be presented for the judge to rule in contempt and whether the defendant should be jailed, fined, or both.
THEY ARE MOSTLY MEANT TO BE COERCIVE
Civil contempt charges are typically meant to force a behavior like strong-arming one of the parents to pay for child support or to force a witness to testify or even to compel journalists into revealing their sources. This is also why civil contemnors have either of the two options; they can either comply with the judge or sign Civil Contempt Bonds to argue that they weren’t given the same rights as other defendants.
Furthermore, if a civil contemnor isn’t able to meet the court’s order and can prove it with the help of Civil Contempt Bonds, their confinement will end theoretically.
NE EXEAT BONDS
When you’re going through a divorce, it is normal for you to be worried about your ex-spouse ignoring their legal obligations. You may also be worried about your ex-spouse leaving town with your children; if this happens, they will not be subject to the child custody agreement in your state’s jurisdiction.
If this thought is keeping you up at night, you need your ex-spouse to post Ne Exeat Bonds. This is a type of surety bond that will provide a guarantee that the other parent will keep to the predefined terms of your divorce settlement, even if they are traveling to a different country with your children.
NE EXEAT TRANSLATES TO ‘NO LEAVING’
In Latin, Ne Exteat simply means ‘he does not depart.’ In common law, however, a Ne Exteat Bond is a writ that restrains the other parent from leaving the court jurisdiction
WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY DON’T ADHERE TO THE NE EXEAT BONDS?
These bonds are commonly used for family law to prevent an individual from removing children (and property relating to a child) from the local jurisdiction. If your ex-spouse doesn’t adhere to these terms or refuses to return, this agreement will have them pay the full cost of the bond. This amount will, in turn, cover all the costs of the international legal actions to get your children back to you.
Simply put, your ex-spouse will be prohibited from leaving the jurisdiction unless they post Ne Exeat Bonds first.
THE COST
Usually, Ne Exeat Bonds cost up to about 1% of the total amount of the bond. It is also important to note that these bonds need to be supported with collateral to protect the bonding company from losses.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Fun fact: It has been found that at least a quarter of the released defendants in the United States fail to appear for their trial. Defendants released with a bail bond, however, are known to appear more frequently as opposed to the others.
If your friend or loved one is involved is in trouble and you feel obligated to help, what you need is a good bail bondsman. These agents maintain strong security agreements with court officials alongside having great arrangements with credit providers, banks, and insurance companies. This helps bond agents draw on great levels of security outside the usual business hours, eliminating all the property or cash expenses tied up with appearing in front of court every time the defendant needs to be bailed out.
We hope you find the information provided above helped you in understanding what kinds of bond options you have and what each one entails. For any questions or queries relating to these bonds, feel free to reach out to us.