This site is for information purposes only. For assistance in bailing a loved one out of jail in the state of Minnesota call Guaranteed Freedom Bail Bonds at 651-bail-4-jail (224-5452) or visit their site at www.guaranteedfreedombailbonds.com
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform him of the charges against him. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisdictions, but they generally include "guilty", "not guilty", and the peremptory pleas (or pleas in bar) setting out reasons why a trial cannot proceed. Pleas of "nolo contendere" (no contest) and the "Alford plea" are allowed in some circumstances.
Bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail (and be guilty of the crime of failure to appear).
A bail bond agent, or bondsman/bondswoman, is any person or corporation which will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of a criminal defendant in court. Although banks, insurance companies and other similar institutions are usually the sureties on other types of contracts, for example, to bond a contractor who is under a contractual obligation to pay for the completion of a construction project, such entities are reluctant to put their depositors' or policyholders' funds at the kind of risk involved in posting a bail bond. Bail bond agents, on the other hand, are usually in the business to cater exclusively to criminal defendants, often securing their customers' release in just a few hours.
Conditions of release - Many varied non-monetary conditions and restrictions on liberty can be imposed by a court to ensure that a person released into the community will appear in court and not commit any more crimes. Common examples include: mandatory calls to the police surrendering passports, home detention, electronic monitoring, drug testing, alcohol counseling, surrendering firearms.
Protective order/Order of protection - one very common feature of any conditional release, whether on bail, bond or condition, is a court order requiring the defendant to refrain from criminal activity against the alleged crime victim, or stay away from and have no contact with the alleged crime victim. The former is a limited order, the latter a full order. Violation of the order can subject the defendant to automatic forfeiture of bail and further fine or imprisonment.
Recognizance is most often encountered regarding bail in criminal cases. By filing a bail bond with the court, the defendants will usually be released from imprisonment pending a trial or appeal. If no bail has been set, the defendants are released "on their own recognizance." Release on recognizance is sometimes called RoR, or, particularly in the United States, OR.
Surety - when a third party agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of the defendant. In many jurisdictions this service is provided commercially by a bail bondsman/bondswoman, where the agent will receive 10% of the bail amount up front and will keep that amount regardless of whether the defendant appears in court. The court in many jurisdictions, especially jurisdictions that prohibit bail bondsmen, may demand a certain amount of the total bail (typically 10%) be given to the court, which, unlike with bail bondsmen/bondswomen, is returned if the defendant does not violate the conditions of bail. This also is known as the surety on the bond.
Defendant. A person against whom an action is brought. In this case, it is Bill.
Bail Bond. A one-page written contract promising to pay the bail amount if the defendant does not come back to court when he is supposed to.
Power of Attorney. A written document attached to the bail bond (by the bail agent) that communicates to the court as well as the local authorities that the bail agent reserves the right to present the bail bond to the jail and sign the surety’s name to that bail bond.
Remember, the bail bond is a written contract between the surety and the state and – to legally bind the surety – it must be signed by the surety or someone authorized to sign for the surety. The power of attorney is proof that the bail agent has the proper authority to bind the surety, making it the responsible party on the promise to pay.
Forfeiture. An order from the court that is drawn up when the defendant misses his scheduled court appearance.
This order means that the bail bond is no longer in effect. Bill is not in custody, but he is no longer authorized to not be in custody because his bail bond is no longer active. Now Bill has an open warrant for his arrest because now he is a fugitive.
Fugitive. A person who is not in custody, but is supposed to be.
Fugitive Recovery Person. A person responsible for locating the fugitive defendant and bringing them back to custody.
This person does not have to be an actual peace officer.
A bail agent has the right to apprehend the fugitive and surrender him back into custody themselves or can do so by contracting a third party person to fulfill the fugitive warrant. These third party fugitive recovery persons are often called “bounty hunters” because traditionally they take a percentage (usually 10%) of the amount of the bond for apprehending and surrendering the defendant back into custody.
Motion to Set Forfeiture Aside. A formal document filed with the court by the surety’s attorney. It is an attempt to convince the court that it should not make the surety pay the entire bail amount because the defendant had a very good excuse for not being in court when he was supposed to be.
Example: Maybe Bill had an automobile accident on his way to court. Maybe Bill was taken to the hospital the night before with a ruptured appendix. Maybe Bill had been picked up for drunk driving yet another time and was in jail in another county. Maybe Bill is dead. There can be all kinds of reasons, some of them quite legitimate, as to why Bill missed his court date. The surety therefore would want the court to set the forfeiture aside.
Many states have different procedures regarding these types of actions and a seasoned bail agent can explain these very well for the jurisdiction in which they operate.
Indemnitor. A person who co-signs someone else’s note, promising to pay should the borrower fail to honor the agreement. The indemnitor is also known as the “co-signer.”
In the bail bond business, an indemnitor signs an agreement at the time the bail bond is made. The indemnitor’s signature signifies a promise that if the defendant fails to appear and the bail has to be paid, then they as the acting co-signer will pay that bond loss.
Besides granting a bail agent the necessary guarantee needed to get the bond made, an indemnitor can also be a good friend to have as they will usually assist the bail agent wherever needed because they do not want to suffer any financial loss.
Collateral. The actual security put up by the indemnitor to be used if the defendant fails to appear and the surety is called upon to pay the bond loss.
Full or partial collateral is generally taken on all large bonds (approximately $10,000.00 and over) and many bail agents require collateral to support the indemnitor’s promise on smaller bonds. Collateral may be in the form of cash or some tangible item, such as real estate, jewelry, stocks, bonds, or titles to chattel such as boats, trucks or automobiles.
For example: Let’s say Bill doesn’t appear on his $10,000.00 bond, the bond is then forfeited and the full $10,000.00 bail must be paid by the surety. Let’s also say that Bill’s uncle was an indemnitor on the bond and he put up a $5,000.00 certificate of deposit to partially secure the full $10,000.00 risk. The $5,000.00 would be used, and Bill’s uncle, as the indemnitor, would be responsible for the remaining $5,000.00 bail payment.
Bail Agent Indemnitor. Bail agents are also liable as indemnitors, under their written contract with the surety, promising to pay the bond loss if there is one.
The idea is for the surety to never have to pay on a bail bond because the surety gets a very small percentage of what the bail agent collects from writing the bond. Since the bail agent takes the majority of the money, the bail agent takes all of the risk and stands to lose whatever he cannot collect from the indemnitor. So, the bail agent is protected against loss by the indemnitor and the surety is protected against loss by the indemnitor and the bail agent indemnitor.
