All Things Bail Bonds

Failure to appear is a criminal charge.

In traffic ticket cases the amount of the bail is usually set at the total value of the tickets, so you’re probably looking at a $4,000 bail.

To buy a bond from a bondsman would thus typically cost you $400. You “might” be able to get a bondsman to take payments, but that’s purely a negotiated issue between you and him.

Note, though, that a bail bond just keeps you free till your court date. Once you show up to court you’ll still have to pay the $4,000 in tickets AS WELL as the bail bondsmans $400. Courts will usually give you a certain time to pay your tickets, but - again, “usually” - don’t take payments.

Additionally, in law, you ARE a criminal. “Failure to Appear” and “Failure to Pay” (which is doubtless what a bunch of those “ticket” fines really are) are criminal offenses.

Richard

Edit…. Whether your court will take payments or not is entirely amatter of local law. Call the traffic court and ask.

As to bail, by the way, are you sure you need it? Usually, even with FTA/FTP warrants, if you just go to court the judge will quash the warrants.

Your state may be different, but I have NEVER seen a judge order a traffic offender held on FTA/FTP warrants once they actually showed up in court, thus curing the FTA, and agreed to pay the fines.

I assume you have already missed (numerous) court dates. The amount of ticket fines has nothing to do with what a bail bondsman would be getting you freed for. He would be bailing you out of jail “after” you get arrested. The only bond I have heard of as far as traffic tickets is for out-of-State drivers. I used my AAA card for this when I was in the military. This way I wasn’t arrested or detained for the amount.

You only need a bail bond when you are IN jail. They get you out of Jail when you are booked and bail is set. You pay the bondsman 10% of what your bail is (bail=$5000 you pay bondsman $500) He pays the court the $5000 to get you out of jail. When you show up for court he gets his money back plus the $500 you paid him. If you don’t show up for court the bondsman will come looking for you. If you owe fines, then you will still owe the fines, you cannot use a bondsman to only pay 10% of your fines.

Go to court, tell the judge that you want to pay off the $4000 but cannot afford to do it all at once. I am sure they will let you make payments on it instead of going to jail. For a fine that big though they will probably take your license (if they haven’t already) untill the whole thing is paid.

what you pay to the bondsman is not going to affect the amount owed in fines and you will lose that money and will not get it back. your fine will still be $4000. go to court and talk to the judge and you can possibly get a payment plan. the jails are full so they want your money more than they want you in jail. or hire a lawyer with $400 and maybe you can work a plea and get a payment plan on the balance of a lesser amount. but go to court, or you will have money fines to pay.