If you have been arrested in California, paying bail grants you a temporary jail release while you wait for trial or the resolution of your case. However, bail amounts are usually set too high, which triggers questions about what will happen to all that cash after the case ends. Many people ask, Do you get the bail money back in California? If you are one of the people who ask for this, reading through this blog will provide you with the answer.
Bail in California: How It Works
Bail is the money you or a person on your behalf deposits with the court or jail facility to guarantee that you will appear on all the required court dates after your pretrial release. By posting bail, you can walk free as you wait for the scheduled dates to attend court for the proceedings about your case.
Not all crimes necessitate bail. A judge determines the value of your bail based on different factors, like your criminal history and the nature and severity of the offense.
The bail’s main purpose is to ensure an accused person attends all their scheduled court proceedings associated with their case. Essentially, making bail guarantees the defendant will keep their promise, similar to the collateral of a bank loan. When you pay bail, you will leave jail, while the money you paid will be held until your case ends.
You can post bail using cash bail, a property bond, or by obtaining a bail bond from an experienced bondsman. With cash bail, you deposit the whole bail value directly with the jail facility or court, and then you will be released. If you wish to post cash bail, the court must ascertain that you obtained the money legally. Should the court determine that the cash you plan to pay is ill-gotten or came from a questionable source, it might deny the cash bail. You might also have to demonstrate where you obtained the cash before the court accepts it.
With a bond, you pay a bail bond company a nonrefundable premium (often 10 percent of the total bail value) instead of depositing the total bail value. The bondsman will then post a security bond with the jail facility or court. Apart from the premium, some companies will also require collateral for security.
A property bond is where you use a property, such as a house, to post bail rather than hiring a bondsman or paying cash. If you cannot raise the money to pay cash bail or a bondsman but own valuable property, posting a property bond is an option. If the court or jail facility accepts the property you put up, it will place a lien on it for the bail value.
Understanding Bail Bonds in California
A bail bond refers to a payment to the jail facility or court by a bond agency on your behalf as the defendant. This makes it a form of surety bond. Bail bonds allow defendants to pay bail they would not have otherwise afforded. Thus, if posting the total bail value yourself is challenging, you can retain a bonds company at a fee, which we mentioned to be 10% of the bail value.
The company will then deposit the entire bail amount for you. The 10% fee is not refundable, whether or not you adhere to all the pretrial release conditions. If you cannot afford to cover the premium, many licensed bond companies in California offer different payment options and payment plans. These include credit cards, cash, and debit cards. Apart from paying the premium, the bail bond company may require you to surrender your property as collateral to secure the bail bond.
The bail bonds process is brief; you will be out of custody before you know it. Once the judge imposes the bail amount, you can call a bail bondsman to help post it. The bondsman will need you or your loved one to pay the 10% premium.
Once the bondsman has received the premium, they will start the bond posting process. As mentioned, the bondsman may want to secure the remaining bail value with collateral. This entails signing an agreement forfeiting your asset to cover the remaining bail value in case you jump bail. If you lack enough assets to secure the bail bond, the bondsman might turn to your family members or friends for collateral. After the bail bondsman has received the premium and is content with the collateral, they will deposit the bail amount with the court or jail for you.
What Happens to Your Bond Money in California?
Although bail reasonably ensures an accused attends court hearings, that money is not automatically forfeited as extra punishment, even after a defendant is convicted in certain cases. The bail value belongs to the party that originally posted it, not to the court system.
The process for refunding bail money is based on different factors, including how the accused's criminal case or charges are resolved. It also revolved around whether the accused posted bail through a bail bond company, cash bail, or a property bond. In whichever situation, comprehending California bail refund procedures and rules ensures you follow the right steps to increase your likelihood of recovering the bail amount posted.
If you posted cash bail, the court will refund the bail amount to you in full after your criminal case ends, irrespective of whether you were convicted or acquitted. Some courts may deduct court or administrative fees and fines from the bail money before returning the rest to you. If a family member or friend had posted the bail for you, the court would refund the money to them, not you. However, the court will return the cash bail money only if you followed all pretrial release conditions and appeared for all the required hearings while out on bail.
The process to refund cash bail generally necessitates bringing a motion to the court and submitting documentation such as a copy of the bail receipt. If you did not violate any conditions that justify forfeiting bail, the court will issue you a refund check for the bail value.
You do not pay any money upfront for a property bond to secure your release. That said, you also do not receive any cash refund after your case ends. However, once your case ends, the court simply removes the lien from your property's title, and the property becomes yours once again. You must have appeared for the court hearings as required and complied with other court orders to receive back your property.
If you had secured a bail bond, you would not be refunded the premium you paid to the bail bondsman. That is because the premium is the company’s charge for paying the entire bail amount. However, the bail bond company would recover its security bond from the court after the case ends and you have met all the requirements. So, even if the bond company receives its bond money back, it will not return the bond premium to you.
Whereas cash bail offers a way for full bail value refunds, bail and property bonds have no full financial refunds. They only have the release of the bond security or lien, respectively.
Getting Your Bond Money Back: Explained
We have already established that courts refund bail money if the defendant attends all court hearings and obeys all other imposed conditions. The court will mail the bail money refund to the depositor (the party that paid the money to the court). Generally, the bail refund happens within thirty business days from the date of the case disposition or thirty business days from the date the exoneration order was issued. However, receiving the refund in the mail might take up to eight to 12 weeks.
You must follow specific steps and provide the proper documentation for a flawless refund process:
- Collecting the necessary documents. To begin the refund process, the crucial papers you need to gather are a bail receipt, proof of address, valid identification, and a court order showing case resolution.
- Filing procedures. Submit the necessary papers to the court clerk to file for your bail refund. After that, fill out the bail refund request form. You will then need to verify your present mailing address. The last step is to sign the necessary release forms.
- Follow-up process. After filing your paperwork, wait for the above-specified period to receive your refund. Consider these tips:
- Check your mail frequently for the refund check
- Contact the court if you have not received your refund after 30 business days
- Update your address with the court if you relocate during this period
If you miss court hearings regarding your case or violate the conditions of your pretrial release, you will forfeit your bail to the court. You would not receive any amount back if you had posted cash bail. For a property bond, the court will enforce the lien placed on the property by foreclosing on the property to recover the bail amount. You will then lose the property.
If you had secured a bail bond, the bail bond company would forfeit the bond money to the court. You will then owe the bondsman the full bond amount. If you had provided collateral to secure the bond, the bondsman could sell it to recover the bond amount. If there is no collateral, the bondsman will pursue you for collection or the person who helped you secure the bond, if any.
Bondsmen usually go to greater lengths to ensure a defendant attends court before they forfeit bail. They might even check in on the defendant on the morning of your court date. They might also try to drive you to court themselves.
Some bond companies may also require that a defendant have a cosigner. A cosigner is a person who will assume all the responsibilities for the bail bond. They will be financially responsible for the bond, including paying the bond premium and negotiating a payment plan. They will also be responsible for ensuring the defendant appears in court after they secure their release from jail. If the defendant fails to appear in court, the co-signer will pay the entire forfeited bond, regardless of the amount.
Requiring a cosigner is the bond company’s measure to ensure defendants appear in court. Cosigners are mostly loved ones, and since the defendant's loved one’s money will be at stake, the defendant will have no choice but to appear in court.
If you have skipped bail and the bondsman cannot find you, they will likely hire a bounty hunter to locate you. The bounty hunter will hand you to the authorities if they find you. Courts generally grant bondsmen 180 days to return a defendant who has skipped bail in police custody before they forfeit the bond money.
Apart from forfeiting the bail amount, you can also be subject to additional legal repercussions if rearrested. Once you jump bail, the judge may issue a bench warrant against you, and if rearrested, you may face failure to appear charges.
If you skipped bail on misdemeanor charges, you can be subject to additional misdemeanor charges for skipping bail. A conviction would lead to a maximum jail term of six months and a fine of $1,000. If you jumped bail on felony charges, you can be subject to another felony charge and face up to $10,000 in fines and a maximum prison sentence of three years.
If you have a reason for jumping bail, you must inform the court in advance and submit evidence to avoid issuance of a bench warrant or bail forfeiture. Some of the valid reasons you can provide include
- You were hospitalized and could not attend
- You were arrested and detained in another jurisdiction
- You were involved in an accident on your way to court
Find Professional Bail Bond Services Near Me
If you wish to post bail for yourself or your loved one anywhere in California, you need not worry about raising the bail amount, which can be too high. We at Mr. Nice Guy Bail Bonds can help you. Our bondsmen are experts in the bail process. They will explain bond money refunds and assist you in moving from jail to freedom. They understand California bail laws well, making them reliable partners in bail bond returns. To learn more or commence the bail bond process, contact us at 844-400-2245.
