For people who have been charged with crimes in San Diego, bail bonds have helped them avoid waiting in a jail cell until their scheduled court date. Depending on that person's standing in the community, past criminal record, status of employment, and severity of the crime, the local judge will set the bail amount based on these and other additional criteria. Sometimes, a prosecutor will work on the judge to set the bail as high as possible in order for the defendant to be unable to make the bail amount that's been set. The charges and circumstances, however, have to be one really serious for this to happen. Reasonable bail is guaranteed by law. Once bail has been set, it is up to the defendant, or the defendant's family, to pay the bail to stay outside the confines of a jail cell until the start of the trial.

Not everyone can afford to pay the full bail and this is where bail bonds come into the picture. These are agreements made between one or more persons and a bail bond agent. The bondsman will post bail in exchange for a fraction of the full bail cost and the defendant will be released from the San Diego County jail. This is done only when the person being released agrees to appear in court once the hearing date is set. What holds this agreement up is a contract that has been backed an insurance company, signed by the defendant and bondsman. The agreement has sometimes been secured with enough cash and collateral to cover the bail amount in case the defendant fails to show up for his scheduled court appearance.

If you happen to know someone in a jail cell in Santa Diego, bail bonds cost 10 percent of the bail that has been set. This is a non-negotiable standard cost and there are no hidden fees or taxes to be scared of. For example, a bail of $20,000 has been set. For the defendant to get out of jail, he will have to pay the amount of $2,000 in order to be released. The bail bonds company you hire will take care of preparing the documents for you to sign. This includes the bail application, the bail indemnity document, and a final receipt.

The bail bonds paperwork process usually takes around 2 hours for a licensed bondsman to finish. Documentation can be completed by email or fax in just a matter of minutes with some bail companies. Once the process has been completed, the person can be released from the jail cell. Remember, for this kind of situation, you want a company that works quickly and efficiently if you want to avoid spending time in jail.