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About The Bail Industry

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the bail industry, please read this brief overview.

In 1872, in a landmark case (Taylor V. Taintor), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a bail bondsman into whose charge and custody a person accused of a crime is remanded, the bail bondsman [or the bounty hunter whom he hires] works within the extended authority of a sheriff, and may take whatever measures deemed necessary, including crossing state lines or entering a person's home or place of business without permission to recover that person and return him to a court of law. In the past 20 years, this ruling has been modified in some states, requiring the bail bondsman or bounty hunter to knock and obtain permission before entering a person's home, work or other sanctuary.

Here in the United States, the E ighth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees fair and reasonable bail, which is little more than an insurance policy, issued by licensed bail bond agents, guaranteeing to the courts that a freed prisoner will attend all scheduled court appearances. Bail can typically be set for misdemeanors or felonies, including; DUI, aggravated assault, domestic abuse, drug charges, armed robbery, murder and white collar crimes.

When Bernie Madoff was arrested for perpetrating a 50-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, he was released on a $10-million bail, after a bail bondsman posted the bond, guaranteeing to the court that Madoff would show up for all of his court appearances. Madoff's up front fee paid to the bondsman was $1-million or 10% of the full bail amount.

If the defendant skips his court appearances and goes on the run, the bail bondsman has a specified period of time to locate and return the defendant to court. The bail bondsman may do this himself or hire a bounty hunter, for which he pays a fee of 10-20% of the total bail if the bounty hunter is successful. If the defendant is not recovered within the allotted time, the bondsman must pay (or forfeit) the full face amount of the bail.

Until recent years the bail industry was almost exclusively dominated by men, as it was thought to be too dangerous for women. Over the past twenty years, things have changed, and now more than half of the 18,000 licensed bail agents nationwide are women. About 30% of those women not only write bail, but also hunt down defendants who 'skip' on their court appearances.