We must understand the court procedures before we count on its benefits. That way, we can do our duty and stay away from danger and adverse consequences. For instance, your family or a friend gets arrested for a crime they didn’t commit. It is essential to save him and prove his innocence. For this, first, you need to join hands with a bail bond agent to get the family member or your friend out of jail and ensure that they attend the court hearing. If you choose to be the co-signer or signer of the bail bond, you are responsible for ensuring that the defendant shows up for the court appearances.
There have been situations when the defendants failed to show up at court because they wanted to skip the process. It’s not a wise act. What do you think will happen next? The court and the legal system have their ways to address such issues. When the defendant skips appearing at court, the bail bold becomes the default, and he or she will lose the money that got paid for the bail. If there is any collateral used for securing the bail bond that will get confiscated as well. To know more about this, you can check out Castle bail bonds Shelby County.
The process that follows
In most states and countries, the court sends a notice to the concerned bail bond company to notify them that the defendant failed to attend the court hearing. The court states the bail bond to be a default. In some cases, there’s a grace time given. However, that entirely depends on the court after it has checked the defendant’s track record.
In some time, a warrant gets issued for their arrest that includes extra charges. These charges get added because the defendant skipped the court hearing date. And when the defendant gets arrested, he or she is declared ineligible for any bail.
Appointing the criminal recovery agent
The court or the bail bond company appoints a criminal recovery agent to find the defendant and get them to custody. Different countries and states allow a different period to the bail bond company to search and find the defendant. And if the bail bond company with the help of the criminal recovery agent fails to find the defendant within the stipulated time, the co-signer or the family will be accountable for paying the full bail amount. You also have to pay the extra costs and other pending premiums because your friend or loved one escaped a vital legal process. Furthermore, when the defendant gets returned to the custody via a fugitive recovery agent, you have to complete necessary paperwork, so that the bail bond gets out of default.
The critical question to ask and know here is – what happens to the cash? Just in case a defendant doesn’t get found and is put back to custody, the collateral or the money that you paid for your loved one or friend gets forfeited to the court. There is not a single penny that you will get, irrespective of any result of the case. Hence, it is essential to think twice before deciding to escape from a court hearing after bail.