Having a loved one in jail can be stressful for a parent or friend, so you must find a way to get them out.
Sometimes there won’t be a judge or person to talk to. You can get them out on bail if you know how much bail the judge set.
With the coronavirus and working schedules, you might not get to meet the judge. You need an alternative way of looking into the bail amount. Let us get the details of how you can find the bail amount online to help a dear one;
How To Find Out Someone Bail Amount Online
You can find the bail amount online on the county court’s website. You need to know that this amount may not always be accurate.
If the defendant had multiple charges, the site would list each charge with the bail next to it. You may need to give the defendant’s name, date of birth, address, and inmate number.
Other Ways To Get A Defendant’s Bail Amount
You need to know a defendant’s exact bail amount before going for them. You need to pay the whole amount in cash or check, so it is crucial. The judge will have a hearing to set an amount for the defendant’s bail.
After the bail hearing, you can use several methods to know how much bail you ought to pay. Let us look at all the ways of getting the bail amount.
1. Attend the bail hearing
This is the first and most obvious way to get the exact bail amount. Once the police arrest a person, they will appear in court about 24 or 48 hours later.
This will be the first hearing, and the judge will set a date for the second hearing when the case will start.
The prosecution and the defense will argue if the defendant should get bail. The judge will look at the crime and the defendant’s history to determine if they get bail.
If the judge allows bail, they will state it at the court hearing, and this is the best place to get the information.
This is possible if bail hearings in your jurisdiction are accessible to the public. You can go into the hearing and get an exact figure from the judge. Additionally, you could pay the fees and have your friend go home free on the same day.
2. Ask a lawyer
Most people get an attorney after being charged with a crime. They have one, whether it is a personal attorney or public attorney. The court will disclose all the information about the defendant to the attorney.
Once the court sets bail, it will give the defendant’s attorney information. If you are a close family member, you can call the attorney and ask about the bail amount. It will be easier if it is a family attorney since they will help with most of the process.
If you don’t know the attorney, you can find them and get information on the defendant. Most public attorneys have several inmates, and their information is confidential. You should have the name, address, and other relevant information on the defendant.
3. Call the courthouse
You can call the courthouse in the evening after the bail hearing and get the bail amount. You need to know your local court’s working hours. It would be best to call during general office hours when you’ll be sure to get help.
Bail information is sensitive and private, so you need specific defendant details to get it. You might have to get the defendant’s name, date of birth, address, and sometimes the inmate number. You can use a search engine to find the local courthouse’s number.
You can also get the number in the Government section of a phone book. Such numbers rarely change, and you can always go to court.
4. Asking a Bondsman
Bondsmen help defendants get money to pay bail for their loved ones. Most times, you might want to do it yourself but using such services has advantages. The first is you won’t have to deal with the stress of finding the inmate number and bail amount.
The bond agency will look into most of the details for you. Additionally, you will have a professional help you through most bail payments. You will have an easier time although it will be more expensive.
How To Get A Defendant Out Of Jail Using Bond Agents
Once the police arrest you for a crime, the judge will set bail. This is the amount you need to pay to get out of jail before your trial. You have to await arraignment for most serious crimes before the judge sets your bail.
An arraignment is the first court date after your arrest. If you can’t afford the full amount, you can hire a bail agent. Such an agent will help the defendant and their families get their release before trial.
You need to have all the information on the defendant before calling a bail agent. You must have the full name, jail location, charges, and booking number. Most bail agents are available 24 hours a day, and they work with most credit cards and money platforms.
If a family member is close to the jail, you can meet the agent there and post the bond. Some agents will request to meet at home to discuss the details. If the family member is far away, they can do the transactions and paperwork online.
The bail bond rates will vary between states, but you should expect about 10%. The bail agents might need collateral to ensure the defendant comes to court; This can be a piece of property, a house, or jewelry.
Once everything is in order, the bail agent will pay the bond and secure the arrestee’s release. The bail agent will become responsible for the defendant. The agent has to ensure the defendant makes it to all court hearings.
Should the arrestee forfeit court hearings, the bail agent will lose the bail money. The agent could hire a bounty hunter to find the defendant and bring them to court. You may lose all collateral you sign off to the bail agency if the defendant doesn’t go to court.
When the trial is over, the court will release the bind regardless of the case’s ending. So whether the defendant is guilty or innocent, the bonds agent will get their money back.
The Problem With US Bail System
The bail system in the US has been no stranger to controversy over the years. It is a system supposed to help the citizens, but it lost its way. Bail was supposed to imply the innocence of all defendants until the court proves them guilty.
This means that a defendant shouldn’t be in jail until the court convicts them. The US bail system doesn’t show the presumption of innocence. Instead, it infringes on the defendants’ rights and causes a lot of damage to the families and arrestees.
This is prevalent in people from low-income communities and citizens of color. The root of this problem is the cost of bail. For the cash bail system to work, the accused needs to be able to afford it.
The bail amount isn’t supposed to show the likelihood of a defendant’s guilt. The court should not have reviewed evidence when setting bail unless it is a violent crime. Judges could deny bail, but they can often have problems doing it.
Setting excessive bail amounts became a good alternative to denying bail. Judges’ prejudices determined who they chose to detain. This problem meant bail amounts increased, and defendants could not pay.
These high bail rates meant that a judge could put an innocent defendant in jail simply because they weren’t rich enough.
This is what brought the rise of bail bond agencies. They pay the defendant’s bail in exchange for a fee.
Currently, the median bail in the US is about $10000. This sum is too high for nearly 50% of Americans, and 9 out of 10 defendants can’t raise this amount. The 9 defendants that can’t raise the bail money have to turn to bail agencies.
It is up to the agency to choose which defendants to pay bail for. They have no legal obligation to help, so they choose defendants that will most likely pay. This helps them make a profit of over 2 billion dollars each year.
Pretrial detention has been the main reason for jail growth in the US. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people stay in jail since they can’t raise the bail amount. It leaves them with the only option of bail agents.
Conclusion
You now know how to find out someone’s bail amount online. You can look at your local court’s website to see if they offer the service. You might also get the court’s number and call to get the amount. You will need details on the inmate, such as the charge, name, and address.
Bail can often be high, and you might have trouble raising the amount. If you find yourself in such a situation, contact a bonds agent to help pay the money. There is a lot of controversy over bail systems, but it can be helpful.
