Bail Bondsmen Business Profile: Friend or Foe?

One of the last people the average citizen hopes to get to know in a professionalcapacity is a bail bondsman. We cringe at the thought of enlisting his services, becausedoing so signifies only one thing: trouble. And though the majority of us won't be addingjail bird to our resumes, heaven forbid the time come that a family member or close
friend is arrested. For unless we're wealthy, the bail bondsman will be the first person wecall.

Here's how bail works: After someone goes to jail they are brought before a judgewho decides if they should be released until their trial date. If the judge decides in theirfavor, he will set a bond, the amount of which will be determined based on severalfactors; the severity of the crime, the standing of the accused in the community, and
whether he might pose a flight risk. Most people can't afford to pay the full amount of thebond and that's where the bail bondsman comes into the picture. The customary fee paid to him is 10% of the bail set by the court. If the accused fails to show up for trial, thebond is forfeited, meaning the bondsman who provided surety to the court is heldresponsible for the full amount of the bond.

The roots of surety-assurance against loss, damage, or default-can be traced as farback as the Old Testament. Proverbs 20:16; "Take this garment that is surety for astranger." Society throughout history has struggled to ensure the good behavior of its citizens. In 1700 England, entire communities pledged to find and execute an offender or
be responsible to the victim. This community was called a 'tithing" and consisted of 10freeholders and their families, knit together as a unit and bound to the king for thepeaceable behavior of each other.

Bail laws in the United States grew out of a long history of English statutes andpolicies. When the colonists declared independence, they no longer relied on English law,though their policies closely paralleled the English tradition, allowing the contract to bestrictly between the principle and the bondsman. This contract was outside the boundariesof constitutional requirement.