Can You Revoke a Bond and Get Your Money Back
Have you ever helped a friend get out of jail, only to regret it later? Maybe you're wondering, can you revoke a bond and get your money back? It's a tough situation, but one many people find themselves facing.
Sometimes, people face situations where they are concerned if it is possible to revoke bail after they post it for someone. You may have even lost faith in the person you helped. So let's explore whether can you revoke a bond and get your money back.
Table Of Contents:
Understanding Bail Bonds
How Bail Bonds Work
Types of Bail
Can You Revoke a Bond and Get Your Money Back?
Revoking a Surety Bond
Cash Bail and Getting a Refund
Reasons for Bail Revocation
Steps to Revoke a Bail Bond
1. Notify the Defendant
2. Contact the Bail Bondsman
3. The Bondsman Informs the Court
Avoiding Bail Revocation
Bail Bond Locations
Conclusion
Understanding Bail Bonds
Bail bonds let someone get out of jail while awaiting trial. It is often an agreement with the court. The bail agreement requires the defendant to attend their scheduled court appearances.
They might also have to follow certain release conditions. These can include failure to adhere to requirements, such as staying away from certain places, people, or even avoiding criminal activity. A violation of those release conditions could result in severe circumstances.
How Bail Bonds Work
When a person is arrested, a judge sets a bail amount. This amount serves as collateral and a promise that the defendant will return for all court dates.
Many people cannot afford to pay the full bail amount themselves. So they turn to bail bondsmen for help securing the defendant's release. You only pay a percentage of the total bail. This is known as the premium.
However, that premium is nonrefundable because bail bond premiums cover administrative expenses. The bondsman guarantees the full bail to the court, providing assurance the person will show up. That's how a bail bond works.
Types of Bail
There are a few different ways to post bail. Knowing your options is critical. It will also allow you to determine if you would be able to revoke the bond and get the bail money back, or not.
Cash Bail: Paying the full bail amount with cash, cashier's check, or money order. If the defendant attends all scheduled court dates, the money is usually refunded, minus court fees.
Surety Bond: Hiring a bail bondsman, who promises to pay the full bail if the defendant doesn't show up in court. This involves paying a non-refundable premium.
Property Bond: Using real estate as collateral. This requires the property to be worth at least one-and-a-half times the bail amount.
Can You Revoke a Bond and Get Your Money Back?
Now, here's the big question: can you revoke a bond and get your money back? The answer depends on a few factors. The method you used to post bail matters, and it impacts whether you are able to revoke the bond and get your money back or not.
It is often in the fine print of your agreement when posting bail. Also important, are any applicable bail laws that exist in your state. Let's get to it.
Revoking a Surety Bond
If you used a surety bond, you can revoke it, but don't expect a refund. Once the bail bondsman is paid the premium, that money is theirs. They earned it in return for accepting on the liability that is presented in the event the person released doesn't appear in court.
Contact the legal answering service of the bail bond company to start the revocation process. Next, tell the bondsman that you want to take back the bond. Remember to inform the defendant, because consequences follow for them too.
After you revoke the bond, the bondsman will likely bring the defendant back into custody. The clock starts over. To get released again, the defendant has to post bail again, either through the assistance of the bondsman again or another way.
You need to understand a bounty hunter might be hired. In some cases, if the bail bond company uses bounty hunters to locate the defendant, it may cost more money for you. It is something important to consider before agreeing to the revocation.
To save on extra expenses, you can wait until the defendant is in custody again.
Cash Bail and Getting a Refund
With cash bail, getting your money back is more possible. If the defendant attends all required court appearances, the cash is usually returned.
There will be deductions to cover administrative and court fees. Your attorney will need to prepare an order. You need to prepare this request for the Judge's signature for the refund of cash bail at the end of the case.
You should not anticipate being issued one automatically without it.
Reasons for Bail Revocation
The court can revoke bail for numerous reasons. This is completely up to their court's discretion. This includes breaking bail conditions or failure to appear. The defendant not appearing means the agreement has been breached and there may not be a path for a refund of the bond premium.
Failure to Appear: Missing scheduled court dates is a major violation. This shows you might run away to avoid trial.
Committing Another Crime: Getting arrested again while on bail suggests a risk to public safety. A prior case creates significant barriers, if not making it impossible, to securing your release the next time.
Violating Bail Conditions: Ignoring requirements such as avoiding contact with someone or completing rehab will cause a bail to be revoked. In O.J. Simpson's armed robbery case in Las Vegas, O.J. contacted a witness and he violated his bail terms.
Even accidentally breaching bail conditions can put someone in bad straits. However, failure to appear has its own separate penalties to consider. Also consider that there is additional time that someone who's incarcerated may face.
Even under the Bail Reform Act of 1984, you may see bond forfeiture, fines, and tacked on prison time to the sentence the defendant has already received.
Steps to Revoke a Bail Bond
Want to revoke a bail bond? Here's what to do next. Make sure you do it properly, or it may not get fully revoked in court and it can still be tied to you.
1. Notify the Defendant
Give the person a heads-up about what you're planning. While you don't need their permission, you should show them professional courtesy as a family member or friend by tipping them off about what's about to happen. There's still room for agreeing on conditions.
Also, because, after you revoke a bond for them they will likely be remanded back into custody after the notice from court, you might want to help prepare them for those realities to come to pass. This might soften any emotions or reactions and also helps them to prepare as best as they can.
2. Contact the Bail Bondsman
Notify the bail bond company immediately that you wish to revoke the bond. This gets the revocation rolling. Again, it triggers any repercussions, like someone coming into custody or a possible breach of conditions you were hoping to prevent with the bail bond.
By notifying the bail bondsman first, you create transparency and honesty as well as protect yourself from their course of action. Remember to be courteous. Maintain respectful professionalism to continue demonstrating good will and a calm demeanor during times of stress.
3. The Bondsman Informs the Court
After being told, the bail bondsman then informs the court that they are pulling the bond. The court issues an arrest warrant for the person's arrest. Also note, based on California law that the person who is arrested must have a trial scheduled no more than within 30 days of their initial arraignment if that person is in custody.
There is value for them being made aware of this situation as well as setting expectations about what comes next for them. There might even be additional strategies that their legal counsel can offer them, too.
Avoiding Bail Revocation
Better than dealing with the revocation process? That's never needing to do so in the first place. These steps will help reduce, or remove entirely, your chances of revocation so that things are smoother for all parties concerned and everyone can rest easier.
Here's how you can assist the defendant to be responsible:
Make sure to attend court dates.
Agree to avoid all criminal activity.
Make sure the bail is complied with.
Ensure open and candid discussions. In short, being direct can help people to avoid unexpected surprises or potentially hurting someone involved or otherwise, too.
But as important as it is to prevent bail revocation by someone being fully accountable, there may be no recourse if it happens. When in doubt, contacting an experienced attorney should be highly considered as an experienced legal mind may give new angles or options the defendant may be able to take and that they haven't before considered.
Also keep in mind the bigger picture if facing that circumstance because even the average person living in the United States doesn’t even have the capacity to cover more than a $1,000 emergency at the drop of a hat, never mind potentially having to secure bail amounting to tens of thousands in minutes should an agreement go sour at court with seemingly little recourse to change things.
Bail Bond Locations
Our experience providing surety bond and bail services spans from Sacramento to Los Angeles. For assistance, feel free to call us as one of our convenient locations.
Should you ever find yourself in a need, remember we offer:
Los Angeles Bail Bonds (including West Hollywood Jail and Beverly Hills).
Temecula and Riverside County Bail Bonds.
Anaheim and Orange County Bail Bonds.
San Bernardino County Bail Bonds such as Rancho Cucamonga Bail Bonds.
It doesn't matter whether someone is in custody at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino. Someone might need a bond posted at the Pasadena Courthouse. Just remember there may or may not be ability to revoke a bond or get any money returned and what it hinges on.
If a defendant's bail falls under the San Bernardino Bail Schedule or the Los Angeles Bail Schedule, the steps needed and process of working with bail bondsmen are something to know in depth. You need to follow this advice in California. It rings true for all areas we serve.
That way you fully know you're receiving exceptional professionalism as someone navigating a bail bond agreement at times when stress and stakes are so high.
Conclusion
The world of bail bonds can be tricky. That's why it is important to go into it eyes wide open and fully considering not just the facts in this blog, but all applicable local and state bail laws before working to secure bail for someone's pre-trial release.
This is critical before facing scenarios wondering can you revoke a bond and get your money back? Though the question "can you revoke a bond and get your money back" can be confusing to go through, especially for someone experiencing it for the first time. Keep these guidelines and notes top of mind.