Santa Clarita is among the happiest places on earth. However, unfortunate events like crime happen in this city, leaving individuals in jail. The family is left financially and emotionally devastated when you or a loved one is apprehended for a crime. A continued jail stay will be devastating, so you need to explore options to exit jail. One of the quickest ways to leave prison is posting bail, funds deposited by you or another party to guarantee you will be present for your future court proceedings. The deposit can be in cash or bond.
If you cannot consolidate the bail money, contact the Bail Bonds Company. Our agents will help you understand the process of exiting jail through bail, your options, and your obligations when you are out pending trial.
Importance of Santa Clarita Bail Bonds
The United States Constitution’s eighth amendment accords its citizens who have been arrested the right to bail. As per the law, it is illegal for the police to continue holding you in jail without presenting you before a judge for a hearing. The police can only detain you for a specific duration, after which you should be free. Bail is one of these ways that you can exit jail while waiting for trial. It allows you to deposit money or collateral with the court in exchange for a release. Further, it grants you the chance to reunite with your family, return to work and prepare for trial more adequately than when you are behind bars.
Nonetheless, a pretrial release on bail is not guaranteed. Whether the court grants it or not depends on the nature of the charges. If you have been charged with severe infringement, the court will deny bail because it is in your best interest and the public's interest for you to remain in detention. It will be more challenging to obtain bail when you are a repeat offender because it will be easy to refrain from crime which is one of the pretrial release conditions. Additionally, as a repeat offender, the court deems you a threat to yourself and the community, diminishing the chances of a bail release.
Legal Definition of Bail
Bail refers to refundable collateral or deposit that ensures you return for scheduled court dates after exiting jail and assumes the cash or bond form. Nevertheless, not all arrests require one to pay bail to leave jail until trial. You can be released on personal recognizance or through the issuance of a citation requiring you to appear in court on a specific date.
You should note that the money or property you deposit is refundable upon case conclusion. However, when you disregard your responsibilities upon exiting jail and skip court, you will forfeit the deposit, and the judge will issue a warrant for your re-arrest.
Definition of Bail Bonds
The most common way of exiting jail pending trial in Los Angeles County is a bail bond because many arrestees cannot consolidate the funds set by the court. Besides, a bail bond is quick because you only need to know the amount set by a judge and contact your bail bonds dealer to process the bond on your behalf and exit jail as soon as possible.
A bond is a contract between you, the defendant, a cosigner, and the bail bonds agency representative. The agent agrees to provide coverage for the entire bond money when you promise to abide by your pretrial release requirement, including a promise to be present in court and live up to your responsibilities. Before signing the agreement, your Santa Clarita bail bonds agent will explain to you and the cosigner responsibilities and obligations for the duration of the contract. One area of emphasis, especially to the cosigner, is that when you, the defendant, miss a court date, they will be responsible for the total bond money.
Your bail company will not be working for free. Securing a pretrial release is a service they provide; you must pay for it. The company profits from the bail process by taking at most 10% of bond funds as premium fees. Bail companies charge varying prices, with some offering discounts to union members, members of the U.S. military, and those with legal representation.
When behind bars, it is difficult to deposit the bond in person. In that case, you will need someone on the outside to deposit collateral with the bail bonds agent on your behalf. This individual that contacts the bail company is the cosigner.
A cosigner is crucial in the case because a bail agent needs some guarantee that you will meet your obligations to avoid losing their money when you skip court. This guarantee is called collateral and includes jewelry, land, or a car. When you use low-value assets, the court will need physical possession. However, the bail agent will require a property deed for high-value assets like land. Usually, the cosigner places this collateral which is why they must put in all the efforts to ensure you attend all court proceedings because if you fail to, they will lose the collateral. When you perform your responsibilities and the case concludes, the collateral will be refunded but less the premium fee agreed upon by the bail agent.
Different Forms of Bail Bonds
Bail bonds take different forms in Los Angeles County. The type of bond depends on the offense in question. The common bail bond forms are
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Cash Bail Bonds
Cash bail involves you, the accused, making the full payment of the deposit set by a judge in cash. The option is simple when you have the funds to pay bail in cash. After exiting jail, the money will be refunded if you observe the release conditions and the case is concluded. Many defendants are afraid of losing the cash they deposited with the court, thus must ensure the defendant appears in court as instructed. However, when posting bail in cash, your source of the money must be legitimate. If the court doubts the legitimacy of the bail funds, they could be forced to put a hold on your release and conduct investigations to establish the source of the money, translating to an extended stay in jail. So, even if you have money ready to pay bail in cash, consult with the bail bonds to understand further your bail options and the most suitable based on your circumstances.
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Surety Bonds
Another form of bond is the surety or bail bond. These involve an agreement between you, your Santa Clarita bail bonds agent, and the cosigner. The agency agrees to pay your bond money in exchange for a 10% premium fee on the total bond money. Sometimes, these companies will require some collateral to act as security for the surety bond. The collateral can be any valuable property like a house, real estate, land, or jewelry. When you skip your court appointment, the money deposited by the bond agency will be forfeited. And to recover from the loss, the bond company will seize the property used as collateral and auction it to recover the money lost when you failed to appear (FTA).
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Immigration Bonds
When you are arrested as an illegal alien or undocumented non-citizen, immigration bonds are available to ensure you exit jail. However, because these cases are handled by the United States Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, securing a smooth pretrial release can be challenging. Your Santa Clarita bail bonds company will come in handy during these cases and help you secure a bond using your valid immigration status.
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Property Bonds
In Los Angeles County, you can post bail using property if you do not have sufficient funds to pay cash bail. A property bond is like cash bail. The only difference is that instead of paying cash, you deposit a deed of your property with the court to act as collateral. Your property will be returned if you attend all court proceedings as required and the case is closed. The downside of a property bond is that it takes longer to process a release than cash bail. Before accepting the property you want to use to secure a bond, the court must conduct an appraisal to establish its value. They will only take property whose value is three times that of the bail bond set by the judge.
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Federal Bonds
Severe offenses like homicide, armed robbery, or kidnapping can be charged under federal law. If this is your case, you will post a federal bond to exit jail awaiting trial. And because of the severity of these offenses, the judge sets hefty bail money more than other crimes. If you cannot consolidate the amount, you should hire a bonds company to deposit the funds on your behalf, and in exchange, you pay them a fee of 15% of the bail sum.
Each of the highlighted bail bond types is special because arrest cases vary. Your case’s nature is critical in determining the bail money you should pay. Crimes under this category are grave and thus involve hefty bail rates of around 15%, which is higher than other crimes.
Obtaining Santa Clarita Bail Bond
If you are unsure of the bail amount you should pay, you can find the details in the California Bail Schedule. The arresting officer relies on the schedule to set the bond, but they have the discretion to increase or lower the amount based on the nature of your crime. Nonetheless, the final decision is with the court as it sets the bond funds after case assessment in the bail hearing.
The bail process involves many phases, the first being the booking process. Under this phase, the apprehending police officer takes you to the nearest police station to take your photograph and fingerprints. Additionally, they will run background checks to look for criminal history, prolonging the booking process to a minimum of eight hours.
After booking, you should commence the process of obtaining bail right away. The right approach at this stage is to contact your Santa Clarita bail bonds to evaluate your crime and take the necessary steps to ensure you exit jail. However, before your bail company commences your release process, a bail hearing is set to determine your bail. The proceeding happens in your first court appearance, where the jury assesses your character, crime nature, and criminal record to determine the bond money. Further, the jury’s decision hinges on whether you are a threat to yourself and society.
While a lawyer is not mandatory in this proceeding, it is critical to have one because they can negotiate with the judge to lower the bail. Additionally, a skilled lawyer can arrange a personal recognizance jail exit. A release on your recognizance is rare because it only happens to individuals deemed to be of good standing in the community and not a flight risk. Even when you obtain this release, your Santa Clarita bail bond will be critical in the pretrial release process.
Once bail is set, your first instinct will be to pay the amount in whole through a cash bond. This is a quick out-of-jail card, but you must know that it is expensive. With the current financial crisis in California and around the globe, finding someone with the capacity to raise thousands of dollars in bonds within a short duration is challenging. If the baseline crime involves violence or is a brutal offense, the bond will be set in tens of thousands which you cannot consolidate. And even when you can raise funds, it is not wise to spend all your savings securing release only to end up with a conviction during the trial because you could not afford an attorney. Instead of posting cash bail, opt for a bond and then direct your money towards hiring a competent team that will enhance your chances of a favorable case outcome.
Talk to your bail bondsman and find out if they have in-house financing options to avoid overburdening your family or straining your finances. Cashier’s checks, credit, debits, and money orders are options you can explore to pay your bond.
Nevertheless, a surety bond is the best way to address a hefty bail fee. Otherwise known as a bail bond, a surety bond will ensure you only pay a small percentage of the total bail as a premium to Santa Clarita bail bonds agents. In return, the bail operator pays the entire bond for you. This will save you the financial burden of raising colossal amounts of money within the terse notice. The premium fee paid to the operator is nonrefundable and acts as payment to your bail company for their services.
After you have paid the fee, your bail agency will walk you through every step of the process until you are released. Besides, the company will explain the conditions you must meet while out of jail to ensure you do not violate their bail terms.
What to Do After Exiting Jail
Obtaining a Santa Clarita bail bond is the easy part. Nonetheless, your actions after reuniting with your family and returning to work are critical in the trial's outcome. Exiting jail and awaiting trial is a chance to put your affairs in order in the event of sentencing. However, all your focus should not go to your family and work. Your first step after exiting jail should be to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney to help with case preparations. Hire a competent lawyer for the charges and spare adequate time to discuss them and available evidence.
Similarly, it would help if you observed the pretrial release stipulation; otherwise, you risk going back to jail pending case determination. If you are the cosigner of a loved one who has been arrested, you have a role to play. First, you must update the court and your Santa Clarita bail bonds agent on your contact and physical address info whenever you make adjustments. Again, you are responsible for ensuring open communication lines between the bond agency, court, and the defendant and avoiding all obstacles that can strain the relationship between all relevant parties.
As the defendant, you assume the heaviest burden because of the many requirements you must meet, failure to which you forfeit bail and are sent back to jail pending case determination. Some of the conditions you must comply with are:
- Be present in court for all scheduled proceedings
- Remain within the jurisdiction of the court where your case is being heard
- Avoid additional charges for other crimes
- Adhere to protective orders, if any
- Weekly check-ins with your bail agency and court
When you breach any of these conditions, the court will issue a bench warrant for your apprehension. If within 30 days you will not have returned to court, the cosigner will be liable for the entire bail. Therefore, it is wise to fully understand your responsibilities as a cosigner or defendant to benefit from the pretrial release awaiting trial.
Jail and Court Info In Los Angeles County
Santa Clarita Courthouse
Santa Clarita Police Department
Station Phone Number: (661) 255-1121
Jail Phone Number: (661) 799-5123
Find an Experienced Santa Clarita Bail Bond Near Me
Obtaining a bond in Santa Clarita is complex, especially when it is your first time on the wrong side of the law. It is the reason you need a bondsman on your side to streamline the process. At the Bail Bonds Company, we provide excellent bail bond services and are willing to assist you exit jail regardless of the bail amount. Reach out to us today at 323-579-1415 to begin the process of posting bail.
