Bail Bond Process Work For Organized Crime Cases
Unless you’re accused of a particularly serious crime, most people arrested in the United States are eligible for bail. The process typically starts after the suspect is taken to jail, where mugshots and fingerprints are taken, and they’re subjected to an initial hearing called an arraignment. At this point, the judge formally presents the charges against the defendant and either grants or denies bail. If the judge grants bail, a certain amount is set, and if the defendant appears in court as scheduled (and does not commit another crime while on pretrial release), they’ll get their money back at the end of the case, no matter the outcome.
If a judge doesn’t grant bail, the defendant will be held in custody until their next court date. The judge will take many factors into consideration, including whether the crime is violent or nonviolent and the criminal history of the defendant, among others. The courts will also take into account if the defendant is considered a flight risk or a danger to the community based on the nature of the crime.
Most defendants cannot come up with the full amount of their bail bonds, so they turn to bond companies, sometimes known as surety bonds, for help. These companies charge a fee, which can range from 10 to 20 percent of the total bail amount, and they promise the court that they will pay the full amount of the defendant’s bail if they fail to appear in court as promised or breach other conditions set by the judge.
How Does the Bail Bond Process Work For Organized Crime Cases?
In most cases, if you can afford to pay the full amount of your bail, the bond company will return it to you after the trial is over, no matter the verdict. However, the fact is that the majority of people charged with crimes are poor, and the bond company’s fee, combined with late fees and the requirement that they sign over property worth more than they owe, is often more than they can afford.
Bail bond agents are not above trying to take advantage of their clients. In a recent workshop for bond agents, one instructor taught attendees to maintain fake Facebook pages and use “faux” friends to keep track of their clients, so they could arrest them if they skipped out on their bail payments. The ACLU recently sued a bail bond company for doing just that, and other tactics used by the industry to extort money from poor defendants and their families.
When it comes to organized crime cases, the bail bond process works differently. Defendants in such cases are generally charged with federal crimes, like fraud, kidnapping, bank robbery and hate crimes, and have to post a federal bail bond to be released. This is more expensive than posting a state bail bond for the same crime, and requires higher fees and extra collateral, which is usually property. If the defendant is convicted of a federal crime, they can’t be allowed to stay out on bail while appealing their conviction.