Bond can be cash or surety, with or without a 10% provision. (A surety is a person who posts on your behalf, typically a bail bondsman or bail bond agent.) If you are ordered to post a $10,000.00 / 10% bond, this means that you will need to post $1,000.00. There is a trick here, however, and ten percent bonds will still cost you money in the end. Assuming that you opt to post only ten percent, the court is only obligated to return 90% of that bond to you if you are acquitted.
IF YOUR BOND IS EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH: Call my office before you call a bail bondsman. Two reasons: 1) I might be able to get that bond reduced by bringing the issue before the judge, and 2) Even if I can't, I might put you in touch with a bail bondsman who will give you a better rate.
An excessively high bond cannot be justified under the court rules unless you have a history of nonappearance or pose a grave risk of harm to the public. Some jurisdictions tend to order higher bonds, and that's just business as usual in these courts. While I know that you want to get out of jail as soon as possible, the money you spend on a bail bondsman is money that you might better allocate towards your criminal defense attorney. Getting out of jail is temporary if you can't afford a good lawyer.
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