Los Angeles Criminal Lawyers Blog
When a person is charged with a crime, they are often taken into custody. In order to be released, they have to pay a bail amount. A bond hearing may be requested during the first criminal court appearance to reduce the bail, however, the person must remain in custody until their first court date.
Because the bail amount is usually a lot more than can be afforded by any one person, there are bail bondsmen that can help you out. A bail bondsman will pay the bail for you, and will ask you for 8 to 10% of the amount as a fee for their services. Some bail bondsmen ask for some property in the state where the person is arrested as collateral if they feel it is necessary.
There are many bail bondsmen located in your area, and you will see many standing outside of the jail handing out cards and offering you the best rate. So then how do you know which one to trust? There are some companies that will take a long amount of time before they can get your loved one released. They ask for lots of personal information, including bank account information and social security number before they say they can help you. It is difficult to determine whether the company you choose is trustworthy and will get you the results that you want.
Many Los Angeles Criminal Defense attorneys have worked closely with bail bonds companies throughout their long careers. They not only trust these bail bondsmen, but they have developed a long standing relationship with them. This is beneficial to the family who is overwhelmed, wants their loved one out of custody as soon as possible and wants someone they can trust.
For example, our firm had a client who was in Los Angeles, but whose family was out in New York. The father wanted his son out of custody as soon as possible, but the bail bondsman required property in the state of California before they could bail someone out. Thanks to the 30 year working relationship between the company and our firm, we were able to eliminate the property requirement and get the son out in a few hours.
When you are going to pay a significant amount of money to someone that promises they will get your loved one released out of custody, make sure it is someone that comes highly recommended, and someone you can trust. An experienced Los Angeles Criminal Defense attorney can point you in the right direction.