I’m rather unfamiliar with bonds, so I don’t understand what “signing for the bond” means. Isn’t the person who is jailed the one that is putting up the bond (someone else may be getting the money, but it’s the person in jail that’s giving it to the government)? If I’m in jail and I have the money, why do I need anyone else to sign anything?
What is the reasoning in not allowing the alleged victim to make bail? My understanding is that posting bail is a constitutionally protected right, and can not be subjected to arbitrary restrictions at the whim of the government.
I have no idea what the reasoning is. I just know that the inmate can’t sign for the bond themselves - probably because they have no way of getting to their money. And SOMEONE has to guarantee most of these bonds - there’s no way we’re putting up $10K of our own money without collateral - you never know when these people will run off. There’s a reason we’ve employed bounty hunters in the past - they didn’t just exist in the Fall Guy;). And technically, no one is PAYING the bond outright. We collect a 10% fee from the guarantor, which is our fee. In return, we guarantee the bond to the court, and if that person fails to show, we’re out the full amount of the bond to the court. Logistically, it’s pretty impossible for one to bail their own self out of jail. But no matter what, that 10% is ours to keep. We follow the inmates through their arraignment, trials, sentencing, etc - to the end until the bond is clear.
And TeaElle and featherlou, I may sound frustrated, but I am in no way blaming the victim. I understand that this is an impossible situation for many of these women. I was venting because I feel helpless on the other side of the phone sometimes. My heart hurts for these women because I’ve seen my cousin go through it, and I know it’s hard for them. I wish I had the ability to do something for them. I don’t. That’s what so fucking sucks about it.
Ava, are you allowed to give them a phone number? Like for the local women’s shelter, or the national abuse hotline, or victims’ service?
Whenever I know of a woman in a bad relationship, I have a spiel: “The local women’s shelter’s phone number is xxx-xxxx, and they will even send you a cab if you need to leave immediately. You can go there anytime, even if it’s just to talk to someone, you don’t have to stay there. You can also call them anytime, even just to talk.”
jlzania, thank you for your kind words. You say you’d like to help–do you happen to have a magic wand? No? Rats! Well, it was worth a try. Seriously, thank you.
Because, as much as I love the family members I have met, you are more sane than they are. You have always, in the entire time I have known you, called a spade a spade, and expected the people around you to do the same. Hence your extreme disgust with my time with The Jerk. From you I learned the fine art of living honestly in my own skin.
Seeing abusers abuse anyone makes me burn up but I’m thinking this woman is desperate simply because maybe she’s really screwed up in thinking. She thinks that him hitting her is him loving her. And in a world where love is hard to find, she’s thinking, “This is it, this is all the love I’m going to get.”
Screwed up I know but believe me, I’ve got a friend who thinks that way.
And I stayed with my ex-boyfriend before even though he was not right for me and abusive in other ways because I thought that no guy was going to take interest in me. But of course, I dumped him, dumped the friends who defended him and been single ever since.
I rather be single and lonely than abused but some people don’t feel that way.
You seem to be saying that the alleged victim can’t sign the guarantee herself. If the alleged victim shows up with the full bond amount, can she post the bond? Also, it seems that you’re saying that you, as a bond bonder, are not allowed to accept a guarantee from an alleged victim. I don’t see how you, as a private individual, can be restricted in your business practices. And finally, why can’t an inmate sign for a bond themselves? You said that the bond amount is $1000. Which means that you need $100 up front. It’s not inconceivable that someone might be carrying $100 with them. Why can’t they sign for the bond themselves?
More precisely, no one using your sevices is paying the bond outright.
But aren’t you allowed to collect the other 90% from the guarnator? What incentive do you have to hire a bounty hunter?
If one has the full amount to pay a cash bond for the inmate, they can do so. However, you do have to put up the entire amount of the bond - since most bonds range between 1000-5000 typically, it’s hard for most people to do that. Not everyone has $1000 laying around. Once the person shows up for the court appearance, the person who posted the bond receives it back - but again, the full bond must be paid up-front in cash. And very few people have the cash to pay up front.
An inmate can’t sign for the bond themselves by law. That’s not our rule, that’s the state law. As far as victims signing for the bond, that’s also a state law - it has something to do with the fact that the victim is typically the one considered to be pressing charges. Our company doesn’t make the laws, but we are required to follow them. And the magistrate will NOT allow the victim to pay a cash bond either.
As far as hiring a bounty hunter, it’s in our best interest. It’s easier just to find the inmate and bring them back into custory than it is to go through the motions of putting a lien on someone’s home, etc. If it comes down to it, we will do that, but you’d be surprised at how easy it can be for these bounty hunters to find the inmates most of the time. Once they’re in custody, we’re no longer liable for the bond.
My link pretty much said the same thing Annie-Xmas described, only in this case, the church is telling her to call the police, but she thinks she has to forgive him and that involving the law is wrong, because you’re not supposed to drag believers to be judged by unbelievers or something.
Seriously, thank you.