Bail Bond Service
Learn more about our bail bond service and the bail bond process with our team at Lopez Bail Bonds. Serving families across Southern California since 1956, we understand the confusion, worry, and heartache that come with having a loved one arrested. We are happy to provide the following information to help you better understand the bail bond Los Angeles CA services we provide to reduce the stress put on your family during this time.
Bail is a process through which the court releases an individual from being incarcerated, to guarantee that the defendant will show up at future court appearances for any additional actions. Being released from custody is typically set in motion by putting up an amount of cash, or a bond. The amount of the bail is usually set in relation to the gravity of the offence the defendant is accused of, while some judges may take into consideration other factors such as evidence, character of the offender, and his or her monetary ability to obtain bail.
Lopez Bail Bond Services
A bail bond agency, like our team at Lopez Bail Bond, offers to take on a contractual agreement with the defendant or co-signer (in many cases the family) that guarantees the individual will appear in court each and every time the judge requires them to. For this bail bond service, a fee is charged as a percentage of the bail amount. In California, this percentage is 10 percent. Prior to the bail bond agency posting bail, the defendant or a co-signer must guarantee that they will pay the full amount of bail if the defendant does not appear in court.
Collateral is not always required for a person to be bailed from jail. Often, a person can be bailed from jail on the signature of the friend or co-signer alone. Our team at Lopez Bail Bonds understands that this process can be overwhelming and unexpectedly costly for the family and will work with you to arrange payment options that best suit your specific circumstances.
There are four basic release options available to an arrestee. Let’s take a look at each of these options and what they mean for the defendant and the co-signer.
- Cash Bond: For a defendant to be released on cash bail, they must post with the court the full amount of the bail, in cash, to secure their release. They are promising to attend the appointed court date and all court dates thereafter until the case is concluded. Cash bonds are a powerful incentive for defendants to appear, as the cash bond is returned to them should they appear at all scheduled dates. If they fail to appear, the cash bond is forfeited to the court. Our team at Lopez Bail bonds can post a cash bail bond for a premium of 10 percent.
- Surety Bond: The alternative to the cash bail is the posting of a surety bond. This type of bond involves a contract guaranteed by an insurance company having adequate assets to satisfy the face value of the bond. The bail agent guarantees that they will pay the bond forfeiture if the defendant fails to appear to their scheduled court appearances. The guarantee is made through a surety company rather than in cash. A bail bond agency like our team at Lopez Bail Bond can assist in this type of release. In this case, the agency will want to ensure that the defendant or their co-signer has adequate assets, or collateral, to cover the cost of the bail should it be forfeited.
- Own Recognizance: Release in this fashion usually involves staff members of pre-trial release programs interviewing the defendant to make recommendations to the court regarding release of the individuals on their own recognizance – without any financial security to insure the interviewee’s return. The interview usually involves questions regarding the defendant’s background, allowing the interviewer to determine whether the defendant is likely to appear in court on their own. Since no money or bond is posted to secure release, the defendant faces no personal economic hardship from his/her failure to appear.
- Citation Release: This release, often referred to as the “Cite Out,” involves the issuance of a citation by the arresting officer. The citation informs the arrestee that he or she must appear at an appointed court date. This method usually happens immediately after an individual is arrested. Accordingly, in these cases, the arrestee may never actually be placed in custody, and like own recognizance cases, an arrestee’s appearance in court depends on their personal integrity to show up in court.
If your loved one has been arrested or is facing release in any one of these manners, connect with our team at Lopez Bail Bonds to learn more about our bail bond service. We are available to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We look forward to hearing from you and to helping make this difficult time as stress-free as possible. Connect today!