The purpose of bail is to guarantee the appearance in court of one arrested for a crime to determine guilt or innocence. The 8th Amendment to our United States Constitution guarantees this right to all citizens and prohibits excessive bail. The 5th Amendment provides for the due process of law for all, including the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Failure to guarantee the right to bail would make any arrest and incarceration almost a finding of guilt.
Our state laws provide that one arrested may employ a professional bondsman to guarantee his appearance in court. The professional bondsmen or surety must pledge property, cash, or other surety, such as insurance, to the courts on behalf of the defendant or principal. For providing this service, Sureties on criminal bonds in any court shall not charge or receive more than 15 percent of the principal amount of bonds set in the amount of $10,000.00 or less and shall not charge or receive more than 15 percent of the principal amount of bonds set in an amount in excess of $10,000.00 as compensation from defendants or from anyone acting for defendants.
We require a co-signer on all bonds. The co-signer must be employed with a valid Georgia Driver's License. Proof of income, as well as the bond fee, will be needed in order to complete a bond. In some cases, extra collateral will be required. We will also need to know what jail the person is incarcerated in as well as the name of the person you wish to bond. In order to expedite the process, we ask that you call us before going to jail. In most cases, we can have the paperwork started before arriving at the jail, this cuts down on the wait time significantly.
You will remain on the bond until the charges are dropped or until the person is sentenced in court. At no time will the bond fee be refunded, even if the charges are dropped. Once the person is in the lobby, the fee is non-refundable.
You are liable for the full amount of the bond plus expenses if your friend or relative does not go to court. However, a failure to appear in court does not necessarily mean you'll have to pay the full amount of the bond. If the person you co-signed for misses court, contact us immediately to discuss his/her options.
We are available to do bonds 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, for payment questions and other-related business matters our physical office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 am to 4 pm.
