Right to Bail – Everyone Has the Right!

Bail is a guaranteed liberty by the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution and was designed to protect defendants from unfair bail practices or, in some cases, no bail at all.

The 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution reads: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

While in some cases, it may take several hours or up to a full day to set bail for a particular crime, every accused individual has the right to have a fair bail set and the opportunity to post such bail. If your friend or relative is in a situation where bail is not being set, and it has been over 24 hours, then you should contact an attorney immediately for counsel.

A bail bondsman or bail bond agent is any person or corporation that will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of persons accused 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 of catering to criminal defendants, often securing their customers' release in just a few hours.

A surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay one party (the obligee) a certain amount if a second party (the principal) fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract. The surety bond protects the obligee against losses resulting from the principal's failure to meet the obligation.

A surety bond is defined as a contract among at least three parties:

the obligee - the party who is the recipient of an obligation
the principal - the primary party who will perform the contractual obligation
the surety - who assures the obligee that the principal can perform the task

Bail bond agent- a surety agent or an agent of a property bail bondsman who is duly licensed under the provisions of sections 374.700 to 374.775, is employed by and is working under the authority of a licensed general bail bond agent

General bail bond agent- a surety agent or a property bail bondsman, as defined in sections 374.700 to 374.775, who is licensed in accordance with sections 374.700 to 374.775 and who devotes at least fifty percent of his working time to the bail bond business in this state

Property bail bondsman- a person who pledges United States currency, United States postal money orders or cashier's checks, or other property as security for a bail bond in connection with a judicial proceeding and who receives or is promised therefor money or other things of value;

Surety bail bond agent- any person appointed by an insurer by power of attorney to execute or countersign bail bonds in connection with judicial proceedings and who receives or is promised money or other things of value

Right to Bail – Everyone Has the Right!

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