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I Need a Bondsman. What Are Some Questions I Should Ask?

Fizeradmin • Mar 07, 2020

Tennessee has one of the highest jail populations in the country, and a significant number of these inmates are unsentenced. They are simply waiting for their day in court. In most cases, these individuals are not dangerous criminals. They simply cannot afford bail or have not yet partnered with a bondsman (bail bonds Clarksville TN).

Jail release is not just important for personal and professional reasons. It’s also important for health reasons. Incarceration, and specifically prolonged exposure to stress hormones, alters brain chemistry. Many people know someone who did a stint in jail and came back as a different person. This may be due to having been exposed to ongoing high levels of stress hormones or possibly because the inmate sustained an incarceration-related brain injury.

So, if you get arrested, you need a bondsman. It’s not just for the sake of the emotional well being of your friends and family. It’s also for your own emotional and physical sake. But you do not just need any bondsman. You need a Fizer Bonding Company bonding agent (bail bond near me) who will give you straight answers to some frequently asked questions.

What Are the Steps in Hiring a Bail Bondsman ?

The first order of business is to determine the nature of the charges and the availability of bail. Police officers are not legally required to inform defendants of the charges at the time of arrest. So, many inmates only have a vague idea why they are being held inside a jail or holding facility.

Generally, the sheriff’s website contains much of the information needed to find out what the charges are. The exact nature of the charges is important because that’s usually the way the sheriff sets the presumptive bail amount. In most cases, this amount is about $750 for a misdemeanor and $1,500 for a felony. Those levels vary significantly, based on factors like the defendant’s criminal history.

A brief word about the nature of bail bonds. Basically, a bail bond is an insurance policy. This policy guarantees the defendant’s appearance at trial. The bail amount is like the coverage amount. And, as anyone who has bought insurance before knows, the amount of the premium varies based on the amount of coverage. The more financial protection you need or want, the more you must pay.

Bail bonds work the same way. The premium with Fizer Bonding Company is 10 percent of the bail amount. Other factors might come into play as well.

Do I Need Collateral When Hiring a Bondsman ?

In most cases, no. Generally, people pay the premium, and that’s it. The bail bond company bears the entire financial risk.

We have all seen people do things like put their houses up for bail. Or at least we have seen these things on TV and in movies. Generally, that’s because the bail amount is so high that the defendant must liquidate assets in order to pay the premium. 10 percent of two million dollars is a lot of money. Outside of extreme cases, like muder or extremely complex financial crimes, bail amounts are rarely that high.

What Are Some Bail Conditions?

Another question to ask is; what do I need to do after I am released on bail. Paying the insurance premium is usually not enough to keep something like a car insurance policy in force. For example, if they cause accidents, the insurance company might be able to drop them.

Once again, bail bonds are the same way. Defendants cannot just pay the premium, walk out of jail, and go on as if nothing happened. Pretrial bail bond release is a conditional release. Some of these conditions include:

  • Commit No Further Offenses : Traffic violations do not affect bail, in most cases. But generally, if the defendant gets handcuffed for any reason, that’s a new offense. Picking up a new charge is by far the leading cause of bail revocation.
  • Unauthorized Travel : Legally, people must remain in the county before trial. But some people work or live in another county. Others have pre-arranged travel plans. Your bondsman (bail bond Clarksville TN) can usually work with defendants in this area, as long as they communicate about the issue.
  • Report to Bonding Agency : In-person reporting, on at least a bi-weekly basis, is usually mandatory. Once again, your bonding company may be able to modify this condition slightly to help accommodate a special situation need, if the defendant is proactive. 

Bondsmen usually have no discretion with regard to offense-specific conditions a Montgomery County judge imposes. Some examples include an ignition interlock device in a DUI and a no-contact order in an assault. If the defendant is unable to comply with the condition for whatever reason, the judge might be willing to modify the requirement.

What Happens to Bail Jumpers?

The last question to ask is, what happens if I don’t follow the rules? No one plans to cause a car wreck and no one plans to skip bail. But these things happen. Auto insurance companies often drop drivers who cause crashes, and bail bondsmen eventually send bounty hunters after bail jumpers.

These men and women are not like the Mandalorian. Most Tennessee bounty hunters do not even carry weapons. Instead, they are basically detectives. They locate bail jumpers and then let local law enforcement take care of the rest.

Note we said that bail bondsmen eventually send bounty hunters. Generally, bondsmen first reach out to defendants, tell them about the issues, and give them a chance to make things right.

Assume Derek misses a meeting. His bonding company will probably not revoke his bond straightaway. Instead, an agent might call Derek and find out what happened. If Derek has a good excuse for missing and makes his next scheduled meeting, he’ll probably be fine.

Now Assume Derek does something worse, such as pick up a new arrest case. In situations like these, the judge will probably revoke Derek’s bond. The matter is beyond the bail bond agent’s control. Nevertheless, the agent will probably reach out to Derek and advise him to turn himself in. The best case scenario would be that at that time, he might be able to obtain a new bail bond and get out of jail. If you or a loved one finds themselves in this kind of situation it’s best to reach out to your bond agent and as quickly as possible and come clean with them about what’s going on. 

For more information about the bail bond process in Montgomery and Robertson Counties and a free consultation, contact Fizer Bonding Company (bail bond Clarksville, TN). They will take the time to answer your questions and provide quick and confidential bonding for you or your loved ones. Fizer Bonding Company is a proud member of the Tennessee Association of Professional Bail Agents . For more info about Fizer Bonding Company bail bonds, click here .

“We’ll get your tail outta jail!”

Fizer Bonding Company in Montgomery County Tennessee

(931) 449-9351

Fizer Bonding Company in Robertson County Tennessee

(615) 667-1109

**Disclaimer**Please be advised that neither www.fizerbailbonds.com or Fizer Bonding Company LLC is not an attorney or law firm and does not provide legal advice. If you are seeking legal advice, you are strongly encouraged to consider consulting with a competent attorney in your jurisdiction who can provide you with legal advice on your particular matter where individual state, county or city laws may apply. www.fizerbailbonds.com provides INFORMATION ONLY and the information provided is for informational purposes only AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR SUBSTITUTED FOR LEGAL ADVICE. THE INFORMATION INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. No guarantees are made and the use of the website, content, and any information provided is at your own risk.

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