All Things Bail Bonds

Say, somebody gets arrested. They have bail for the charge set at $10,000….They call a bail bondsmen. He posts a bond. Now, that is not to say that he puts down $10,000. in cash. He is usually registered in the county where he works and files paperwork swearing that he is worth, oh, let’s say, 4 million dollars, or he has property amounting to 4 million dollars and can cover the $10,000. He signs the bond and gets his “customer” out of jail. On the day when the customer is supposed to show up for court, he doesn’t. Now, the court wants that $10,000. The guy has skipped bond. If somebody doesn’t show good cause for the “customer” not showing up in court the bail bondsmen forfeits that bond and has to cough up $10,000. That’s when the bounty hunters go looking for the bail jumper. The bail bondsmen charges the customer a certain percentage of the bond, usually 10-20 per cent, that’s how they make their money….

real simple an outside person will pay a bail bondsman a certin percent of the bail. then the arrested will be rel-iced.
If the arrested does not show up for court bounty hunters collect the bond and hunt the arrested down and the person who singed the bond will be held accountable for the rest of the money. needless to say they wont get there taxes back for awhile

Bail bonds are essentially an insurance policy guaranteeing that a defendant realeased from pre-trial custody will appear in court as promised. As many defendants are unable to meet the financial requirements of the bail, the bail bondsman, for a fee, guarantees that the bail amount will be paid to the court by the bondsman and the surety company (insurance company) he represents if the defendant fails to appear in that court as promised. This is not a loan.

If the defendant meets his/her obligation to the court, the bond is discharged, any collateral (generally real or personal property offered by the defendant, his family, etc. to secure the bond) held by the bondsman is released and the matter is ended.

If the defendant fails to meet his obligation to appear in court, the bond is set into forfeiture and the entire amount of the bond is due and payable to the court. At that point, a “redemption” period (generally 180 days) begins during which (under a 1872 U.S. Supreme Court decision) the bondsman (or his agent, the bounty hunter) may locate, capture and return the defendant to the jurisdiction of the court. If this capture and return are completed within the specified period, the bail is discharged (exonerated) by the court and the bondsman’s responsibility for the bond is ended.

The bounty hunter (a specialist in such matters) is an independent contractor who, for a fee paid by the bondsman, the surety company or any individual or group that stands to lose collateral offered to secure the bond, will locate, arrest, hold (if necessary) and transport the defendant, returning him/her to the custody of the chief law enforcement officer (usually the Sheriff who maintains the jail) of the county in which the court sits or directly to the court.

The fee for a bouty hunter’s services are generally equal to the fee charged the defendant by the bondsman plus expenses, but are open to negotiation.

As far as Mr. Chapman, please do not confuse this fraud and his band of costumed rejects from a carnival sideshow with real, professional bounty hunters. He is universally despised in the business as a phony and an embarrassment.

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