Upon the arrest of the accused, they are placed in a holding cell until custody is transferred from the police department to the courts for arraignment. In NYS, the accused will see a judge and be arraigned within 24 hours – even if you are hospitalized at the time of your arrest, the courts will come to your hospital bed to arraign you within that period. At arraignment, the judge will either ROR you (release you on your own recognizance), set a bail amount, or you will be remanded without bail. The bail bond amount is the insurance policy that procures the appearance of the accused.
In New York State, at arraignment, a judge will typically choose two forms of bail to set. The first is a cash bail which is paid directly to the courts in full, and the second is a bail bond which requires the services of a bail agency – at a reduced rate. A bail bond is a written promise, or insurance policy, that is signed by both the guarantor and surety company. It ensures that the criminally accused appears in court, at the scheduled date and time, for all hearings until the final disposition of his/her case. A bail bond company provides monitoring of the accused, without the use of public funds, through sentencing.
Once the guarantor underwrites the bail bond, the bail agency will then post it in court. The bail agency collects a small percentage of the bail amount as a fee for their services – this percentage varies from state to state; New York having one of the lowest premium rates in the nation. This fee starts at 10% for smaller bonds, but as the amount of the bond increases, this percentage will decrease. ($1,000 bond will have a fee of $100; $5,000 is $460; $25,000 is $1,760; $50,000 is $3,260; $75,000 is $4,760; and $100,000 is $6,260) Collateral will frequently be required as well in order to pay the bail fee associated with getting the criminally accused released while they await trial. Collateral comes in several forms, the most common being property, securities, or cash. This collateral will prominently be returned upon the disposition of your case.
Within the industry, the signers on bonds are commonly http://windhampharmacy.com referred to as the “Circle of Love”. What is meant here is that when it’s your mom’s livelihood or your grandma’s house put up for collateral, you as the accused, are more likely to appear for your scheduled court dates than you are if you were simply ROR or released through cash bail. The bondsman is there to keep you accountable, making sure you comply with your release terms and show up for court, so that the victim of the crime has their day in court.
