A bail bond agent, or bondsperson, is any person or corporation that will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of persons accused in court. Although banks, insurance companies and other similar institutions are usually the sureties on other types of contracts, these institutions are often reluctant to put their depositors’ or policyholders’ funds at the kind of risk involved in posting a bail bond. Bail bond agents, on the other hand, are usually in the business to cater to criminal defendants, often securing their customers’ release in just a few hours. Once the defendant has successfully appeared at their scheduled court date, the bond is paid back in full, often with required interest paid directly to the bail bonds agent. Here are a few more facts you should know about how bail bonds work whether they are Miami bail bonds or not.

The first modern bail bonds business in the US, was established by Tom and Peter P. McDonough in San Francisco in 1898. People often attribute this to the very first time these proceedings took place. This might only be a western imagining of the history of the bail bonds process. In fact, history tells us that the first surety bail bonds were agreed upon in what is today modern Iraq. Historians suggest that people were released from jail by having an indemnitor pay a sum in currency and to pledge the defendant will show up to court backed by the indemnitor’s property. Stone carvings and other records place these events at over 4,000 years ago.

Bond agents generally have a standing security agreement with local court officials. These agreements usually agree to post an irrevocable bond, which will pay the court if any defendant for whom the bond agent is responsible does not appear. The bond agent also generally has an arrangement with an insurance company, a reputable bank, or a different credit provider to draw on such security. The main benefit of this is that it eliminates the need for the bondsman to deposit cash or property with the court every time a new defendant is bailed out.

Because of the federalized system of legislation in place in the United States, the laws on bail bonds are generally inconsistent state to state. Federal laws affecting it includes the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, specifically the Excessive Bail Clause, and the Bail Reform Act of 1984, which was included in the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. Laws concerning the very nature of what are bail bonds change and evolve on a nearly constant basis. Keeping ahead of the laws and regulations in different state is a vitally important aspect of the job. More on this topic.