When someone is arrested, that person may post the “jail house bond” and be released or remain in jail over night and see a Judge the next day. At the first appearance, the Judge can either release the person without a bond or can set a bond. The are several options for the Judge when setting a bond but only a few options are normally used.

The first and most restrictive type bond is a full cash bond, where the defendant will deposit the full cash amount of his bond with the Court. Assuming the defendant makes all required court appearances, the cash bond will be refunded to whom ever paid it. The next type bond is a surety bond posted with a bail bond company. The company charges a 10 % fee for it’s services and sometimes asks for extra security. The 10 % fee is a one time fee and not refundable. There is then a 10% deposit bond which would allow the defendant to deposit 10 % of his bond with the Court. In theory, the other 90 % becomes due if the defendant fails to appear. Courts rarely if ever collect the 90 % because they are not equipped to do collection work. The final type of bond is known as a property bond. If done right, an owner of real property would pledge his or her real property to the court as collateral. The idea on this bond would be that the property will be forfeited (lost) to the Court if the defendant fails to appear.

Bonds are meant to guarantee to appearance of a defendant and have nothing to do with guilt or innocence.