Adventures In Avvo – Take 2

Out of some curiosity about how bail works, I posted a question on Avvo Answers. The first answer I got was a clean miss by an out-of-state lawyer. Now Illinois’s own Jeremy Richey has stepped up.

To review, here’s the question I asked:

What’s my exposure if I bail someone out of jail?

Chicago, IL Viewed 4 times. Posted about 17 hours ago in Criminal Defense

If a friend has been arrested, it’s my understanding that I can get them out by paying 10% of their bail to the court. I assume I’d lose that money if they don’t show up to court. Do I get it back if they do? If they don’t show up, am I responsible beyond the 10%, financially or otherwise? If it matters, assume I can’t trust my friend’s family with the money and want to deal with the court directly–i.e. I don’t just want to loan them the money.

And here’s Jeremy’s answer:

Illinois did away with bail bondsmen, so don’t worry about what my out-of-state colleague wrote. The 10% rule is pretty easy. For example, if bond is set at $1,000/10%, then it will cost $100 to bond the person out. This money is paid directly to the sheriff’s department or police department holding the person. There will also be a small sheriff’s fee.

As a practical matter, you probably will never see your money again. The court will likely take the bond money and apply it to the person’s fines when his case is over. If he fails to show up for court, his bond could be forfeited. Never pay a person’s bond unless you never want to see your money again.

Good luck.

Short, simple, polite, and correct.

Well, I’m assuming it’s correct. With my meager non-lawyer knowledge of the law, I can’t really tell. Which is an improvement over the previous answer, which was clearly wrong.

I have a few comments about this answer. Let’s look at that last paragraph in a little more detail:

As a practical matter, you probably will never see your money again. The court will likely take the bond money and apply it to the person’s fines when his case is over.

Aw, cheer up, Jeremy. Every once in a while someone is found not guilty.

Aren’t they?

If he fails to show up for court, his bond could be forfeited.

What exactly does that mean? It appears Jeremy has missed the part of my question where I ask “If they don’t show up, am I responsible beyond the 10%, financially or otherwise?” Perhaps my concerns are so non-sensical that he has no idea what I’m asking.

Let me try again: If the bond is $1000/10%, that means I only had to pay $100 to get the person out. I’ll lose that. But what happens to the other 90% of the bond? Is it entirely a fictional amount that never materializes? Or could someone have to cough it up? In other words, if I post $100 on a $1000/10% bond, and then the defendant skips, am I just out the $100, or am I out the whole $1000?

Never pay a person’s bond unless you never want to see your money again.

That much, I had figured out.

I approved Jeremy’s answer, but I’ll post again if anyone else answers the question.

Update: Adventures In Avvo – Take 3