Comments on: Adventures In Avvo – Take 3

By: Mark Draughn

Mark Draughn — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:41:00 +0000

Scott, you’ve mentioned the 3% before, and that just kills me. The defendant has been found (or plead) guilty. It’s hard to see how he could have cooperated with the court more than that.

By: shg

shg — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:17:16 +0000

And ironically, Raising the Bar is in NY, where there is no 10% cash alternative, much to the surprise of people who go to post bail based on what they watch on TV. In NY, a $1000 cash bail would require you to post $1000. If the defendant returns as required but pleads guilty or is convicted, you would receive 97% of the bond back, with the state keeping 3%. If the defendant returns as required and is acquitted or the case is dismissed, it is all returned. If the defendant absconds, you lose it all.

And we have bail bondsmen as well, but that’s a different animal from your question.

By: Mark Draughn

Mark Draughn — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:49:47 +0000

Thanks. It’s not obvious from this post, but I identified myself as being in Chicago, Illinois, when I posted the question on Avvo. The first answer was from a lawyer in California, and it was clear he didn’t understand how things work here. Jeremy Richey is a criminal defense lawyer from central Illinois, and is well known as a non-douchebag blogger, so I think I can trust his answer.

By: jigmeister

jigmeister — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:48:51 +0000

You have probably gotten a really bad answer, but partly because the practice differs from state to state and sometimes jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I am only familiar with Texas. In Texas there are several types of bonds. A cash bond. One where you put up the entire $1000, usually with the sheriff and get the entire amount back when the case is resolved. The second is a bail bond. In that case you put up 10 to 15 percent of the bond as a fee to the bondsman and you never get that back. The bondsman, then in turn pledges the entire amount to insure that the defendant appears. So the bondsman or his insurer is on the hook for $1000, but doesn’t pay anything unless the bond is forfeited. He is usually licensed or permitted by the sheriff and pays a fee for that privilege. Also, the bondsmen will usually require collateral sufficient to cover his liability, especially on large bonds. There are also other kinds of bonds but these are the usual ones.

So obviously I agree about getting quick answers on line.