What Happens to a Bail Bond When Found Not Guilty?
The purpose of a bail bond is to ensure that the defendant returns to court and obeys the conditions of her release while awaiting trial. When the defendant's case has concluded, no more bail is required; the bond is released by the court regardless of whether the jury finds the defendant guilty or not guilty.
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What Bail is and How Bail Works
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When a person is arrested and taken into custody awaiting trial, the court sets a bail amount based on the seriousness of the alleged crime, the defendant's record and the chances that defendant will flee the community. The purpose of bail is to allow the person to wait for his trial date at home rather than in jail, while also making sure he returns to court when he is supposed to. When the defendant returns to custody, or when the case is terminated through dismissal or a not guilty finding, the bail is exonerated, or released, by the court.
Bail Conditions
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In some circumstances the court may set behavioral conditions on the monetary bail, such as having no contact with an alleged victim or attending AA meetings. If these conditions are not met, the court might require additional bail or put the defendant back in custody.
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Bail Posted By a Bondsman
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When the court sets bail it determines whether the defendant must post a cash bond directly to the court, or whether the court will accept a cash or corporate bond. A corporate bond goes through a bondsman, or bail bonding company. The bondsman pays the bail to the court and charges the defendant a smaller amount, usually 10 percent. In some circumstances the bondsman might require collateral along with the cash fee, if he is afraid the defendant might present a flight risk.
When the defendant goes back into custody or is found not guilty, the court releases the bail. Since the bondsman put the money up to the court, he gets all of his money back. The bondsman keeps the percentage the defendant posted as a fee for having posted the bail to the court and having taken the risk of losing the full amount had the defendant not returned to court. If the defendant put up collateral in addition to cash, the collateral is released back to the defendant.
Bail Posted To the Court
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If a defendant posts bail to the court then returns to custody or is found not guilty, the full amount of the bond is returned to the defendant. The court does not charge any fees for having held the bail. However, the court also does pay interest on bail, even if it held the money for an extended amount of time.
Exceptions
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If a defendant has two or more cases pending, the court looks at all the cases together when setting bail but determines an amount for each case individually. If one case is resolved but others are still pending, the court returns the bail on the case that is completed but retains the bonds on the other cases. If a person has multiple charges on the same case and is found not guilty on one charge and guilty on the other, he may choose to appeal the convictions and remain out on bail awaiting an appeal. In this case, the court keeps the bail because of the remaining pending counts.
If a defendant posts bail to the court and then misses her court date, her bail is forfeited to the court. If this defendant later returns, her attorney could ask the court to reinstate the bail. Depending on why the defendant missed court and how long she was gone, the court might reinstate the bail. This too would be returned to the defendant at the conclusion of her case.
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