How Florida Bail Bonds Work

Bail bonds are fairly simple and it doesn’t take a genius to understand them; unfortunately quite a few people assume that they will never be put into a position where they need to understand them, so they ignore them completely, making the whole process much more difficult. Once you understand how the process works, and how best to make sure it runs smoothly, posting bail for someone, or organizing your own release from jail, is relatively simple.

When someone is arrested, they will be given a bail hearing where a judge will decide whether the person should be allowed on bail, and if so for how much. The bail amounts can vary hugely depending on the crime and can reach millions of dollars if there is significant risk to letting the defendant out of jail. Once the amount has been decided, the defendant will need to contact a family member or friend who can organize the bail amount by working closely with a bail bondsman. The bondsman will ask for a 10% deposit (assuming it is not a federal case, which will normally require a deposit of around 15% due to higher risk). After this has been paid, it is possible the bondsman will ask for collateral to cover the risk they are undertaking; collateral can come in various forms and is generally any asset that the bondsman can sell if the defendant "skips out" on their bail.

Once this has been done, the Florida bondsman will negotiate the release of the defendant upon the conditions of the bail. The defendant will be asked to attend court hearings on particular dates, and if he or she does not appear when summoned the bond is likely to be forfeited. The judge may also ask for other conditions to be fulfilled such as counseling classes related to the crime. It is then up to the family member or friend who co-signed the bond to ensure that the defendant appears in court; if they do not, the bondsman will often call in a bounty hunter to track down the defendant and bring him to justice.