| When a person is arrested, he or she is taken to jail in | | | | an insurance company which agrees to pay the full |
| order to await a date in court. However, except for | | | | amount of the bail if the defendant fails to appear in |
| cases involving very serious crimes, a person may | | | | court. In these cases, the bail agency may hire a |
| "post bail" in order to get out of jail with the promise | | | | bounty hunter to track down the accused. |
| that you will appear in court at a later date. Posting bail | | | | - Release on Citation. Also known as a "cite out," an |
| usually involves paying some sort of fee or collateral, | | | | officer may employ this practice for non-serious |
| sometimes but not always refundable, on the terms | | | | offenders. Instead of arresting a suspect, an officer |
| that the person may leave jail until his or her court | | | | instead issues a citation telling the offender to appear |
| date. Depending on the severity of the crime with | | | | in court. |
| which a person is charged, the types of bail available | | | | - Release on Own Personal Recognizance. In other |
| vary. | | | | cases involving non-serious offenders who have |
| There are five main types of bail, some more common | | | | committed minor crimes and pose no risk to others, |
| than others. They include: | | | | the accused may be offered release from jail without |
| - Cash Bail. If the defendant is offered the option of | | | | paying bail based on his or her promise to appear in |
| cash bail, he or she may pay the full amount of the bail | | | | court. |
| in cash, or sometimes with a personal check or a | | | | - Property Bond. If the accused owns wealth in |
| credit card. | | | | property, he or she may be able to offer property |
| - Bail Bond. Also known as a surety bond, this type of | | | | instead of cash to post bail. If the offender does not |
| bond is often used when the accused party cannot | | | | appear in court, the court may foreclose on the |
| afford to pay the full amount of bail up front. In these | | | | property in order to collect on the bail. |
| cases, a friend or a relative of the accused contacts a | | | | If you or someone you know has been accused of a |
| bail bond agency, a bail bondsman, or a bail agent for | | | | DUI, you need an experienced and knowledgeable DUI |
| help. These agents agree to loan the accused party | | | | attorney to represent you in court. For more |
| the full amount of the bond in exchange for a fee, | | | | information about DUI charges, visit the website of |
| usually equal to 10 percent of the total amount of the | | | | Rhode Island drunk driving lawyer James Powderly. |
| bail. The bond agency in turn has an agreement with | | | | |