Another news article of interest

Here's how being bail bondsman works
By Peggy Judd
[Tagline]
Published Sunday, June 06, 2010 11:00 PM

By Peggy Judd

For the Salisbury Post

The first form of bail bondsmen were wealthy landowners or farmers who would post bail for their incarcerated neighbors, pledging with their money that the neighbor would show up for his trial.

Today, a bond agent must have a clean criminal background check and good credit to be licensed by the N.C. Department of Insurance.

A "professional" bail agent uses his own funds, held in trust, for bail fees. A "surety" bond agent works with various state insurance companies who underwrite the bail fee, though the bond agent is solely responsible for the fee.

Many agents carry both titles.

In brief, a person who is arrested and has to post bail to be released can enlist the help of a bond agent, or bondsman. The defendant agrees to pay the bondsman a fee up front for his services.

The fee for the bail bond is not more than 15 percent of the total bail amount.

The client is required to have a third party involved as a co-signer. The bondsman posts the bail fee with the agreement that the fee will be released when the defendant returns to court for trial.

U.S. Constitutional law states that when this person is released on bail, he is released into the custody of the bail bondsman, and the bondsman can take him back into custody at any time and return him to the custody of the sheriff.

There are seven rules that, if broken, give a bondsman reason to bring a defendant back into custody before the appointed court date. These include leaving the county or state without permission and giving false information about identity or other personal information.