Many defendants secure a pre-trial release by posting bail. But most of these defendants and their loved ones wonder what happens to bail after the court proceedings end. Considering the amount of money or bond you’ve posted to secure a pre-trial release, you would want to learn what happens after the case is completed. This article explains what happens to your bail money or property bond once your case ends. You also learn how to recover the different types of bail and what to do if your bail is forfeited.
Bail Exoneration
Bail exoneration happens when the court formally releases the posted bail. That happens after you or your loved one satisfies the bail conditions. After the exoneration, the court has no claim over the cash, property, or bond posted to secure your release. The court will exonerate your bail after the case ends, whether by acquittal, dismissal, or conviction.
Examples of conditions you must meet include:
- Appearing in all required court proceedings
- Avoiding violating California statutes
- Avoiding contacting certain persons if the judger orders so
Bail assures the defendant’s appearance in court, but it is forfeited if they jump bail. So, if you breach bail conditions, the judge forfeits your bail, and you lose the bail amount.
Bail exoneration does not depend on the outcome of the case. Even if the verdict is not in your favor, bail exoneration is automatic if you have met court conditions like court attendance and compliance with orders. The money or assets tied to the bail are returned to the defendant or the bail bondsman.
Recovering Cash Bail
If you paid cash bail, you receive the total amount back at the end of the case. Receipt is regardless of whether the court dismisses, acquits, or convicts you. You receive the total amount if you meet all court conditions.
If the judge orders bail exoneration, they no longer hold the money you posted as security for your release. Just because the court exonerates your bail does not mean you will automatically receive a check in the mail. Depending on the jurisdiction and the court’s volume of cases, the return of cash bail can take a few weeks or several months, and the court clerk typically processes the return.
You have a right to recover your bail, but any outstanding fines, court fees, or restitution the case requires you to pay off may come from the posted bail amount. So, you might not receive the sum you posted. You should receive the total cash back if you do not need to make any deductions.
Recovering cash bail can be a relief, but be prepared to navigate a lengthy legal process before the money is returned. Sometimes, you may need to follow up with the court or provide proof of payment.
Recovering Property Bond
If you used a property bond to secure your release, recovering it differs from cash bail. Property bonds allow you or a family member to pledge real estate or another asset as security for bail. Once the case concludes and the court exonerates your bail, recovering the property you posted requires some legal formalities.
The court releases the claim or lien it placed on your property. It establishes this claim to guarantee your appearance at all required hearings, with the property as security. If you have done what the court has required of you (showed up for all the needed appearances and followed any other orders), the lien will be removed.
Unlike cash bail, where funds are immediately recovered and returned, a property bond takes a bit more work to return. An official release of the lien must be issued via the court, and that lien must be recorded in the county where the property is located. This process ensures that the property is entirely void of any obligations on which the bail was made. Depending on the local procedures, it may take a while, but you, or the person who pledged the property, must file the necessary paperwork with the county recorder’s office.
Just as with cash bail, any unpaid fines, fees, or court-ordered costs can affect the recovery of your property bond. The court may decide you owe some or all of the remaining amounts and may impose a lien on the property to be held until the amounts are paid.
Recovering Bail Bonds
Bail bonds are involved where you seek the services of a bail bonds company to post the required amount. Typically, you pay a bondsman a non-refundable premium (usually around 10% of the total bail amount) to secure release from custody. This fee covers the bondman's service and is not returned, regardless of the case's outcome.
When the case is over and the court exonerates the bail, the obligation of the bail bond company ends. This means that the bail bondsman no longer has to ensure you are there in court. However, the exoneration does not lead to any refund of the premium you paid. The bail bondsman takes on the risk and your release, so the fee is considered earned. In this sense, there’s no “recovery” of funds as you would expect with cash or property bail.
The premium is non-refundable, but you want to know what would happen if you failed to meet the court’s requirements, like not attending a court appearance. In such cases, the court can demand that the bondsman pay the entire bail amount. The bail bond company can take legal action to recover the money from you or your co-signer. If you fail to appear and the bail is forfeited, you might be on the hook for the entire amount and the premium you already paid.
If you have complied with all court requirements and the case ends, there are no further financial obligations toward the bail bond company. In this instance, the recovery process is about ensuring that your case has been exonerated and that you have met all conditions, so the bail bond company is not required to pay the total bond amount to the court.
Bail Forfeiture
If you or a loved one is released on bail, you promise the court that you will follow certain conditions, most importantly, showing up in court for every date. If those conditions aren’t met, bail forfeiture occurs, and the court can take the bail amount or the full bond from the bail bondsman. Any money you post as bail is almost impossible to get back if the bail is forfeited.
Common reasons for your bail forfeiture include:
Skipping Bail
If you don’t show up when you’re supposed to, the court assumes you have no intention of fulfilling the requirements of your release. At this point, the court will have issued a bench warrant to arrest you, meaning law enforcement will be allowed to take you into custody.
The court also starts to forfeit the bail, meaning you’ll lose any money or collateral. That can be devastating financially, mainly if you use a bail bondsman because the bondsman will come after you for the total amount.
Violation of a No-Contact Order
In cases where the alleged victim is the victim of domestic violence or harassment, the court may issue a no-contact order prohibiting any contact with the alleged victim. This order can even be violated with the slightest thing, like sending a text or trying to contact the person through a third party, and bail can be forfeited.
The court views this as a breach of trust and proof that you aren’t following the terms of your release. If this happens, you will lose your bail and may be charged with new crimes for the violation.
Rearrests
Being arrested while on bail for a new crime can lead to immediate bail forfeiture for your original case. If you did another crime while on bail, the court assumes that you will probably keep breaking the law, devaluing the trust the court placed in you.
You could face problems such as:
- Losing the bail posted for your initial case
- Becoming increasingly challenging to secure bail for the new charges
You could be detained without release until both cases are resolved, making your legal strategy difficult.
Failed Drug Tests
The court imposes strict conditions on your release, for example, taking regular drug tests, particularly when it comes to drug use. Failure to pass one of these tests can result in immediate bail forfeiture if you are out on bail.
If you fail a drug test, you are not following the law or the terms of your release. The court will see this as a breach of your bail agreement. Beyond the financial impact of forfeiting bail, failing a drug test can also lead to more severe consequences, such as:
- Stricter conditions
- Being remanded back into custody
- Facing new charges for violating the terms of your release
Defending Against Bail Bond Forfeiture
You can fight to keep your bail bond if you have skipped a court date or broken a bail condition. If arrested, California law allows you some defenses to help you prevent financial loss and possible legal consequences of bail forfeiture. In these situations, timing is critical because the window to contest the forfeiture is short, usually within 180 days of the court declaring the forfeiture.
Present the Defendant
The easiest way to avoid bail bond forfeiture is to present the defendant to court as soon as possible after a missed court date. However, the court often lets the defendant return to the grace period before the forfeiture is final. If the judge feels you can present the defendant to court quickly, they may set aside the forfeiture and reinstate the bond. Sometimes, missing a court date is not an intentional act of evasion.
Give Suitable Excuses for an Absence
As a consignor, if you cannot present the defendant immediately, you can still defend forfeiture by giving a good enough reason for being absent. Courts know there are times when the defendant can not be held responsible and will excuse the absence if properly documented and explained.
Below are scenarios that the court may accept:
- Date confusion. Confusion over scheduled appearance is a common reason for missing a court date. The court may reconsider a forfeiture if the defendant can demonstrate an honest mistake about the date or time of the hearing. You should prove communication mishaps or clerical errors.
- Death of the defendant. The death of the defendant should act as a valid excuse not to appear before the court. When death has been confirmed by appropriate documentation, such as a death certificate, the court will vacate the forfeiture in these cases. Here, the defendant or the bond co-signer requires no further action.
- Confinement in a detention facility. The defendant cannot attend the hearing if they are in a different jurisdiction and incarcerated. If you experience such, you must show that the defendant was confined. The court may excuse the absence or arrange to have the defendant appear remotely. Demonstrating the defendant’s custody status may prevent forfeiture.
- Mental disability. This defense can hold if the defendant has an incapacity that makes it impossible for them to appear for court dates. You must provide medical records or expert testimony supporting this claim. The court may decide to excuse the forfeiture but revoke the bail if the defendant is in such a condition.
- A legitimate excuse for not being in court is the defendant's deportation from the United States. Deportation removes defendants from the court’s jurisdiction so they can no longer return to hearings. If you have proof of deportation proceedings or documentation from immigration authorities, the court will stop the forfeiture.
Pay the Forfeited Amount
In some cases, despite significant efforts to present the defendant or provide valid excuses, the court may still proceed with the bail forfeiture. If such happens, you can settle the forfeited amount by paying the amount owed. The co-signer or the bail bondsman typically covers the bond amount.
Paying the forfeited bond can help close the case and prevent further legal action against you. Your best bet may be working with a bail bondsman to ease this financial burden. The bondsman could assist with negotiating a lower payment or arranging payment plans to help you settle the debt.
Bail Remission in California
In California, bail remission involves recovering part of a forfeited bail, but it is not guaranteed. It is a request to the court after a bail bond forfeiture seeking a partial refund.
If you can show the court that you did everything to fulfill the terms of your bail but faced circumstances beyond your control, then the court might grant your bail remission. California law is strict, but it also provides for judicial discretion in some cases.
Remission requests must be made in a relatively short window, typically 180 days after the forfeiture ends. If the court is willing to remit, it may return part of the bond but never all.
The amount refunded depends on how cooperative you or the defendant were in addressing breach of bail conditions. If you actively helped bring the defendant back to court, or if the defendant surrendered voluntarily, the court may give remission in part. However, the court may not grant it if it believes you, or the defendant, acted negligently or deliberately disobeyed the bail conditions.
Remission is often pursued in more complex or high-stakes cases, where the bail amount is substantial, and the loss would result in severe financial hardship.
Voluntary Bail Forfeiture
Bail forfeiture is voluntary if you deliberately give up the right to claim back bail money or property posted as collateral. Instead of appearing in court or following through with the bail conditions, you forfeit the bail amount, often as a strategic legal decision. While this may seem counterintuitive, voluntary forfeiture can sometimes be a calculated move in complex legal situations where appearing in court may pose more significant risks.
Sometimes, a defendant forfeits the bail if they want to leave the jurisdiction or the consequences of showing up are steeper than forfeiting the bail. Jumping bail is not recommended unless your lawyer advises you to do so.
Bail may be forfeited voluntarily from a legal point of view, just as it may be forfeited involuntarily due to failure to appear or comply with bail conditions. After forfeiture, you have no right to recover the money or property used as bail or bond.
Other than financial loss, voluntary forfeiture may have additional consequences. If a bail bonds company is involved, they can request reimbursement from you or the co-signer for the total bond value. Also, the court may issue a bench warrant for your arrest if the case is severe.
Find a Bail Bonds Company Near Me
California allows eligible suspects to walk out of jail on cash, property, or bail bonds. Your bail recovery depends on the type you used to secure your release. For cash bail, the recovery is easier and faster than the recovery of a property bond. If you work with a bail bondsman, you cannot recover the service fee they charge. You might lose your bail if you violate the presiding judge's conditions.
A reputable bail bonds company can help you post bail and ensure you follow the court conditions. At Justice Bail Bonds, we understand the California justice system and can support you with your case customized to your specific needs. Call us at 741-541-1155 for consultation and fast bail bond services across Temecula.
