Lately, there has been a significant increase in bails that include both Corporate Surety (bail bonds) and Cash in Baltimore City. With the bail bonds market being in the state that it is, bondsmen are able to finance a higher percentage of the bond fee, and thus take a lesser percentage as a down payment. For some unknwon reason, Baltimore City judges take this personally. In today's society when virtually everything is financed, why is it such a bad thing for a bail bonds company to finance one's freedom?
At Big Boyz Bail Bonds in Baltimore, we are widely known for accepting 1% down, even no money down in order to post bails. Big Boyz sets up payments to allow the defendant to get released, get back to work, hire an attorney, and get back on their feet in an affordable fashion. So why is Baltimore City making non-yet-convicted-defendants scratch and claw to come up with more and more money to get released on bail.
As spoken about in previous blog posts on the purpose of bail in Maryland, the bail bondsmen's purpose is to insure the defendants appearance in court. As long as a bondsmen is taking on this responsiblity, and takes the liability for the bond if forfeited, then what is the problem? What does it matter how much the defendants family or friends paid in order to get the defendant released?
In order to prevent defendants from getting released on short money bails, Baltimore City judges are hiding cash stipluations within the bonds they set. For example, a judge might set a bond at $25,000, but say the first $2,500 has to be paid in cash. Essentially this means the defendant's family has to pay the 10% of the bond to the courts, and still must post $22,500 with a bail bondsman.
Ultimately, judges are deeming people guilty before they even go to trial. This is in many ways "un-American" as we are supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Now I can of course understand a serious repeat offender with numerous felony convictions and bond forfeitures to have a corporate bond with cash stipulations. But these bonds are being handed down on anyone no matter the person or charge. The mere fact that they still keep corporate bonds along with cash shows that the Baltimore City criminal system needs bail bondsmen.
If families only paid bails in cash to the courts, no one would have any significant incentive to look for them if they failed to appear for court.
