What You Should Know About the Texas Bail Bond Hearing Process

Dealing with the legal system isn’t fun for anyone, no matter how cool and collected the attorneys on Law & Order look—and most defense attorneys are overworked and too busy to walk every client through the details of each process. This means that if you get arrested and need to attend a bail hearing, you could be flying blind, even with representation. For most people, that causes a great deal of anxiety.

Here’s an overview of how the bail bond hearing process works in Brazoria County, TX, so if the worst happens, you won’t be in the dark.

After arrest

After you’re arrested, you’ll be taken to the police station to be booked. If you are charged with a serious crime and you cannot afford the bail, you will be required to wait in jail until you can appear in front of a judge for trial. That can take months, and in especially serious or complex cases, it may even take years.

However, there’s another option: using a bail bond in Brazoria County, TX to secure your appearances in court. Bail bonds are a financial guarantee to the police or to the court that you will show up to your hearings, pre-trial procedures and the trial, or else you’ll forfeit the money put down and will be arrested without possibility of release prior to trial.

Most people can’t afford to bail themselves or someone else out, especially for serious crimes in which the bail can range from the tens to the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in some cases, even more. That’s where bail bond agents come in—they’re able to front the money for bail in exchange for a percentage of the bail amount and a promise to appear. If you renege on the agreement, you’ll be liable for the full amount of bail and will go to jail.

Bail and bail hearings

A bail hearing is a procedure where the judge will read out your charges and determine a monetary amount based on the severity of those accused crimes. In some cases, defendants are released “on their own recognizance,” meaning that they seem upstanding enough that a promise to appear in court will be enough to release them from jail.

If you need to post bail, however, your bail agent will help guarantee the full amount. You’ll pay them 10 to 15 percent of the total amount (which is their fee, and you won’t get it back) via cash or check. Then you’ll sign over ownership of property that meets or exceeds the amount of bail, which the bail agent can capitalize on if you violate the terms of your bail agreement. If your bail is set at $250,000, for example, you may need to use your home as collateral.

As long as you comply with all of your court appearances, your property will remain safe—and you’ll stay out of jail while awaiting trial.

Need a bail bond agent in Brazoria County, TX? Call Brazoria County Bail Bonds today to learn more about what we can do for you.

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