In simple terms, when a suspect is arrested for an alleged crime, a bail amount is set. The suspect then needs to post that bond as a “guarantee” that he
or she will appear in court until the case is disposed of in some capacity. While the suspect has been charged in the case, he has not been convicted,
and in order to be convicted he must have due process under our laws.
Recently, many activist groups believe that bail is unfair. Their position is that if you have money, you can post bail and get out of jail while awaiting
your court appearances. If you don't have money, the groups say you must sit in jail, and their position is that this is not fair.
A recent article by Sukey Lewis titled “$2 Billion Bail Bond Industry Threatened by Lawsuit Against San Francisco” goes into detail about the position
this group is taking. According to Sukey “more than 60 percent of people in California’s jails haven’t been convicted of a crime, according to the
Public Policy Institute of California. Some are there because the crime with which they are charged is so grievous that they don’t qualify for bail.
But many are locked up because they can’t afford to pay bail.” Sukey also reports that a federal judge in Oakland will hear arguments claiming that
the San Francisco jails violate the constitutions equal protection clause.
If you would like to read the entire article click here: $2 Billion Bail Bond Industry Threatened by Lawsuit
You have to remember that bail is designed to ensure a court appearance. In general, it has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. If you don't post
bail, and have to sit in jail, then you will be guaranteed to make your court appearance. Because the sheriff, marshall, etc will transport you there,
that virtually guarantees your court appearance.
However if you are released from jail, and don't post bail, there is really no “incentive” for you to show up in court. If you don't show up, a warrant
will be issued for you. Then maybe, maybe a law enforcement agency will make a small effort to arrest you if they can locate you at an address they
have on file. If not, there is no certain time frame in which the suspect will be arrested and it could be years before a case is disposed of.
And by the way, when the suspect/defendant is arrested and brought back to jail, it will be done at the taxpayers expense. What role does the Bail
Bond Industry play in all of this? Well, the bail agency that posted the bond would track the defendant down in a timely manner so he can be brought to
justice. In addition to that, it does not cost the taxpayer one cent to make this happen.
Again, bail has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. There are many people who were tried in a court of law and found guilty, and then years later were
found to be innocent. A recent article in the Washington Post by Radley Balko talks about prosecutorial guidelines and conduct. Balko references four
men who sat in prison for years for a murder they did not committ.
In fact, Balko says “the four, along with a fifth who also was convicted, were eventually cleared through the work of a commission that investigates
innocence — but not until they’d served years in prison, including several years when a judge says the prosecutor and sheriff “did nothing to follow up
on” another man’s confession.”
You can read the entire article here titled “The culture of conviction”
Another very important thing to remember is just because somebody committed a crime, and maybe even confessed to it, they still must be found legally
guilty in a court of law. So yes, they may be guilty of doing the crime, but until a court says they are guilty they are presumed innocent by law.
For example, just the other day in St. Louis, MO, a man robbed a bank and lead police on a high speed chase. There were eyewitnesses who saw him do this
as well as other evidence. So while we can all say “yes he did this crime,” he is still not guilty until found so by a court of law. A
You can see an article about this incident here: Police stop bank robbery suspect driving wrong way on I-270
Below is a video of the incident as well:
To sum it up, when a defendant is released with no bond, or a bond they post on their own, they may or may not go to court. If they don't, there is no
time frame on when the defendant will be arrested and brought to justice. But rest assured, when they are it will be at the tax payers dollar. You can learn more about our bonding services by going to our home page.
In contrast, when a Bail Bondsman posts a bond, the bondsman guarantees the defendants appearance in court at their own expense to ensure the defendant
is brought to justice.