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).
Most bond agreements include travel restrictions, confining you to a specific geographic area such as your county or state. These limitations are designed to ensure your availability for court dates. If travel is necessary, you must seek prior approval from the court or your bail bondsman.
When arrested, the court sets a bail amount based on the crime's severity, your criminal history, and your flight risk. If you can't afford bail, you stay in jail until your court date. The duration of jail time varies.
If you can't make bail in Texas, you will stay in jail until you have served your sentence in full, have completely beaten your case through a not guilty verdict or dismissal, or until you are released on probation. To finally resolve a case, it can take anywhere from a few months to a few years.
signer does have certain rights. If the he or she believes that the accused will not appear in court, he or she can contact the bondsman and request that the bond be withdrawn. The bondsman will then have the accused picked up and returned to jail.
If the defendant fulfills their obligation to appear in court, the bail bond company recovers the full amount of the bond. Conversely, if the defendant fails to appear, the bail bond company loses this amount, and the defendant may be liable for the financial loss incurred by the bond company.