When someone uses a bond company to bail themselves out related to a criminal case in Los Angeles, if they don't pay the entire premium upfront, and they choose to make payments, which many bond companies allow, they can do so. Then they fail to make their payments or violate the agreement with the bail bond company in some material way; the bond company can then say, if you're not going to pay what you promised to pay — if you're not going to correct whatever it is that you did wrong regarding our agreement with you — then we're now going to go to court and ask the Judge to revoke your bond. .
What follows is a crucial moment. The bond company, either on the court day or at a different time, will explain to the Judge that they're no longer responsible for your bond. This could lead to serious implications for you.
The defendant then has a choice at that time to get another bond company to assume the bail, or what I've done in some cases is we argue for the defendant to be released on their recognizance. This means they are released based on their promise to appear in court when required, without having to pay a bail amount. This process involves a hearing where the judge considers the defendant's ties to the community, criminal history, and the severity of the current charges before making a decision.
Hopefully, by that point, they will have made a number of court appearances and not picked up any new cases; it doesn't look like they will receive any jail time on the pending criminal case. This is a scenario where we would have the opportunity to attempt to get you released on your recognizance. Then, you don't need bail.
You Made a Deal With The Bail Bond Company
The bottom line is that the bond company, when they post bail for you, is basically getting you out of custody in order for you to deal with your case. Another thing I've noticed is that the case will get dismissed, and people think that since it was dismissed, they don't have to pay the bail. However, the point is that the bail bond company got you out. That was their job. They did their job.
You agreed to pay their bond by signing an agreement. So, if you don't pay the full bond, they can sue you civilly. This means they can take you to civil court to recover the unpaid amount. If the case isn't filed, they couldn't do anything against you criminally because the criminal court wouldn't have any jurisdiction over you if no case were filed against you in the criminal court in Los Angeles. However, a civil lawsuit can result in a judgment against you, affecting your credit and potentially leading to wage garnishment or asset seizure.
But suppose a case is filed, and you need to take the necessary steps with the bond company. In that case, they can go in and have the bond revoked. If you don't have another bond company to assume it or your lawyer can't get you released on your recognizance, then what will happen is you will be taken into custody by the Judge. The Judge is going to say, I'm not going to get involved with whatever agreement you have with the bond company. I need somebody to secure this bond.
Posting a Bond
The last option for securing the bond if the bail bond company no longer wishes to work with you and you can't be released on your recognizance is to post the bond. Posting a bond means you or someone on your behalf pays the full bail amount to the court or jail. Let's say, for example, you have a $20,000.00 bond. You couldn't get the OR release.
The bond company revoked the bond. You could then actually post the full $20,000.00, and then you would get out. You would get your $20,000.00 back at the end of the case once the court exonerates the bond. The money is returned to the person who posted the bond within a few weeks.
Suppose you have a bond situation related to a criminal case in Los Angeles. In that case, you definitely should coordinate dealing with that through your attorney because your attorney is going to know the ins and outs of the situation regarding your bail bond. Your attorney can even call the bond company and try to negotiate and work with them on your behalf, because attorneys obviously have connections with bond companies, because sometimes, they have to deal with them in order to get their clients out of custody.
I frequently deal with bond companies. I am familiar with the bail bond system. I know what it takes when you're in a tough situation and the bond company is attempting to revoke your bond to try and come up with some alternate solution — either by working with the bond company in some way — or coming up with another way which I mentioned to try and guard your ability to remain out of custody and deal with your case from the street versus being in custody which makes it much more difficult to defend your case. If you have a bond situation with a bail bond company and need assistance, please don't hesitate to call me. I'm more than happy to assist you.
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