When someone is arrested, a judge will set a bail amount that can be paid to release them from jail. However, you may be wondering how bail works and how it is enforced. Here is what you need to know about using bail to be released from jail early.

Bail Is Set by the Judge

A judge overseeing a case will decide how much bail money must be paid for early release from jail. The decision is based on several factors, which revolve around how likely someone is to return to court for their trial. If the person has ties to their local community, has a family, and owns property, a judge may see this person as less of a flight risk and set the bail amount as fairly low. If the crime the person is accused of is violent and the person has no local ties, bail will be set higher to prevent them from being released.

Bail Is Not Returned Until the Trial Is Over

Once someone is released on bail, that money is held by the court until their trial is complete. It does not matter if the person is found to be guilty or not guilty, since the bail money is returned either way by adhering to the terms of the bail.

Skipping Bail Will Trigger a Warrant

If the person doesn't show up for their court date, a judge will issue a warrant for their arrest for skipping bail. Any sort of run-in with the law, even a routine traffic stop, will let the police know that the person has skipped bail and to arrest them so they are returned to jail. The bail bond that has been paid will be lost to the court.

Using the help of a local bail bond agent to purchase a bail bond will trigger them to take action as well. They can use the services of a bounty hunter to actively find the person that skipped bail and return them to jail. They'll do research on your life to find the places you go and people you talk to and eventually track you down so that you can be brought back to jail. Their hope is to recover the bail money that they paid by performing a recovery service of the accused person.

For more information about bail or purchasing a bail bond, speak to a local bail bond agent in the area.