Bail vs Bond in The Criminal Justice System

Clients always ask, ” What is the difference between bail vs bond?” A good question that is not always answered correctly by a bail bonds company. So what is the difference? Absolutely nothing! Bailbonds posted for the release of an arrestee has the same monetary value as if you had paid cash bail. Lets create a hypothetical scenario and see if there is truly a difference of bail vs bond.

Bail vs Bond Are One of The Same

So, Fred’s bail bond case is scheduled for an appearance at the North Justice Center on October 1st. Tom also was arrested on the same case but posted “cash” bail with the courthouse. Both defendants are now out on $10,000.00 bail each. At some point in time, each defendant doesn’t appear in court as scheduled, forfeiting their cash bail and bail bond. Warrants are issued for each defendant and the $10,000.00 is possibly lost. If the defendants don’t make an effort to return to court and meet their obligations, they will lose their bail amounts after a certain grace period. Thus, there is no difference between bail vs bond. 

Bail vs Bond In The Real World

Obviously each criminal case has its own circumstances, thus in the real world things can vary from case to case. A determining factor can be the financial status of the defendant or co-signer, the individual signing for the arrestee. It is convenient to pay a percentage to a bail bonds company and have them put up the total bail amount when bail is high. For example, most people don’t have $100,000.00 readily available to post bail if such an unexpected even occurs. So contracting with a bail bonds company would make sense, where a percentage of the bail bond is paid (premium usually 10%) in return for having the bail bonds company post the total bail amount. If you the bail amount is within the financial capabilities of the person making bail, then it may be best to deal directly with the detention facility or courthouse. However, there are obstacles to overcome many times when trying to post cash bail; access to funds, after business hours, and holidays are such obstacles. Regardless of which option you decide to use, it’s best to better inform yourself regarding bail vs bond.