How Does Posting Bail Work?
The purpose of bail is to ensure that the person accused of a crime returns to court at a later date. While the bail payment might be returned after the legal process has concluded, an issue may arise if the person fails to attend the court hearing. Depending on the details of a case, the accused may be able to post bail immediately after their arrest. However, other cases depend on the jurisdiction or type of charge. If you’re not able to post bail immediately after the arrest, you will have to wait until the bail hearing before posting bail.
How Are Bail Amounts Decided?
In some cases, bail is determined through what’s called a “bail schedule.” Other times, the judge may decide to set a specific bail amount based on the following factors:
The suspect’s criminal record
The suspect’s history of prior DUIs (if any)
The seriousness of the DUI offense
Whether the suspect injured or killed anyone as a result of the DUI incident
The suspect’s ties to their family and the community
The suspect’s employment situation
What If I Can’t Afford to Post Bail?
Sometimes the person accused of a DUI can’t afford to post bail. If that is the case, the suspect, or their friends or family can come up with the full bail amount that was established by the court. The suspect can also post a “bond” in place of the full amount. Many people obtain their bonds from bail bond agencies, which typically post the bond for a fee of about 10% of the bail amount.
In many cases, a Fort Lauderdale bail bond agency will require other collateral before they post bond. Why? Because, if the defendant skips town or otherwise “fails to appear,” the bail bond agency is on the hook for the full bail amount.
Need a bail bond in Broward or Dade County, Call us today 954.661.6518