Bail is when a person charged with a criminal offence is released from custody while awaiting their trial. An individual can be released with or without conditions that they must follow during their release. Not everyone who is charged with a crime receives bail.
You only go to jail after being on bail (assuming you complied with the bail conditions and it wasn't revoked) if you are convicted and sentenced to jail time. You may have been law abiding while on bail, but you are being sentenced for the offence you committed before that, which resulted in your arrest.
Prosecutors usually move cases along more slowly when defendants are not in custody. As a result, witnesses can disappear and cases can get stale, so that bailed-out defendants often wind up with better deals. As defense attorneys like to say, "Justice delayed is justice."
Bail Bonds and Credit Scores It's a common misconception that co-signing for a bail bond will ruin your credit. In reality, a bail bond won't affect your credit score in any way. However, bail bond companies may conduct a credit check before allowing you to get a bail bond to make sure that you're a reliable co-signer.
The defendant can post their own bail or ask a family member or friend to post it. If the defendant uses a bond company, the company may require the defendant to have a co-signer (someone who will help the company find the defendant should they fail to appear).
Can You Bail Someone Out of Jail Anytime? Yes! In California, bonds can be posted twenty-four hours a day, seven days per week. But whether you can bail someone out of jail at any time depends on their situation.
The decision to post bail for someone should not be taken lightly. Financially, you risk losing the bail amount or collateral if the defendant fails to appear in court. Legally, the defendant's absence can lead to arrest warrants and additional charges, complicating their legal situation further.
Bailing someone out of jail who has a history of untrustworthy behavior can create headaches. You're essentially agreeing to put up 10 percent of a bail bond that could be tens of thousands — or even hundreds of thousands — of dollars. If they fail to show, then you went to all that extra trouble for nothing.
Yes! In California, bonds can be posted twenty-four hours a day, seven days per week. But whether you can bail someone out of jail at any time depends on their situation. When someone is arrested, they have a first appearance soon after.
In criminal law, bail is the process of releasing a defendant from jail or other governmental custody with conditions set to reasonably assure public safety and court appearance.