Month: December 2018

How Do Bail Bonds Work?

Patricia Vazquez

If you ever follow the local news, then you are going to hear about people getting arrested from time to time. If you live in a highly populated area, then you’ll likely hear about arrests daily. Those news reports might include facts about a person’s name, and the fact that they were released on so many thousands of dollars of bail, due to return to court in a few weeks. Do you wonder what does bail actually mean? Also, why would a defendant need to actually return to the courtroom if they got released on bail?

If you’re curious about any or all of these questions, specifically regarding how a bail bond works, then keep reading into the following paragraphs for answers and information on how we handle bail issues at Access Bail Bonds – Riverside, CA. It might even prove useful if you or someone you know is ever arrested.

When a person is arrested, they are suspected of having committed a crime. Law enforcement agents then take that person to jail for their booking. The booking process includes a mug shot, fingerprinting, and a request for a statement. After booking, but before a designated day in court, an individual is held in the local jail unless they are released on bail.

Bail is a form of financial arrangement which a bail bonding agency can make on the behalf of a criminal defendant. The court can establish an arrangement with a bail bonding agency where the court sets a monetary value of a bail amount, and then the suspect gets released from jail until their trial if they exchange money for the bail. Collateral such as cash, assets, or bonds can be used for this.

After that, the bail agency is the entity responsible for making sure that an individual gets to court at the time scheduled for their trial. Should an individual fail to show, the bail agency has the right to send a bounty hunter after the individual. The United States is among the few nations across the globe that still allows this practice. The bail bond is supposed to be an assurance that the whole bail amount gets paid, but a number of courts will either take the full bond or just 10-percent cash down payment to release a suspect.

A bail bondsman is someone that works with a bail bonding agency and is the person that actually puts up the fee for releasing a suspect on their bail amount. A bondsman often charges a 10-percent fee based on the total bail amount. That initial amount is never refundable, even if a case winds up getting thrown out once a suspect posts their bail.

The bail bondsman takes out a form of security against the particular defendant and his or her assets so that the cost of bail is covered. If a defendant doesn’t personally have enough securities, then a bondsman might be open to taking out securities provided relatives or friends that might be willing to assist the defendant. When any security is taken out, the bondsman is most likely going to require 10-percent cash on top of a home mortgage that might total the full bail bond money that is owed.

Should the defendant not show up in court on their designated day, then the bounty hunter hiring is not the only option the bondsman has. He or she can even sue that defendant for monies given to the court to cover the bail bond. A bail bond agency in many cases can also recover the money that was unpaid by laying claim to assets that the defendant or those that signed for him or her owned.

What Is the Difference Between an Arbitrator and a Mediator?

Jay Young

Not every serious dispute has to be settled in court. There are alternative channels that can be used, which typically cost less money and follows a quicker process. Of course, these channels aren’t perfect, and sometimes it might just be better to go to court. But it’s recommended to consider arbitration or mediation before presenting your case in front of a judge. But what is the difference between an arbitrator and a mediator?

The best way to answer this question is to look at both options and their respective methods of reaching a final decision. So, if you’ve been wondering what they are about and which one you should be trying first, here is a quick breakdown.

An Arbitrator

Arbitrators are typically called in when the two parties are aggressive towards each other, but they don’t want to spend all that money on going to court. In other words, both parties feel the same about presenting evidence and giving testimony, but at a much cheaper price.

Thus, the arbitrator will approach the matter like a judge would in a more casual setting. There is no jury that needs to be swayed, but you still have to convince the arbitrator.

As expected, the arbitrator shouldn’t have any connections with the parties involved, and he or she has to be completely neutral. Seeing as the judgment from the arbitrator is final and both parties have to comply, whether they agree or not, it is vital to have an unbiased and experienced arbitrator.

This is also the type of situation where lawyers are used, given how the proceedings unfold. Unless you are apt with delivering evidence and up to date with the law, you want to have a lawyer on your side.

A Mediator

Mediation is very different from arbitration and much more casual. Unlike the job of an arbitrator, a mediator merely helps the two parties reach an agreement. A good example where mediation is used is when family members are fighting over an estate, or a couple is separating, and they have minor disagreements.

The parties involved with the dispute might still be aggressive towards each other, but not to the point where they feel “fighting” is necessary. Instead, they get a third party to help them establish a dialogue. Plus, the mediator is able to provide an objective perspective the disputing parties are probably blind to.

This also means that a mediator doesn’t give a final judgment on what should happen. They only give their opinion and guidance towards a mutual agreement. The disputing parties are not forced to adhere to the mediator’s opinion, and when they don’t it usually goes to the next step, which is arbitration.

Which One Is the Best?

Naturally, mediating through a problem without unnecessary confrontation is always the best option. But situations don’t always allow mediation to be possible. And when this happens, arbitration becomes the logical next step if money and time are going to be saved.