It’s a call that no one wants to get: your friend or loved one has been arrested, is in jail, and needs you to bail them out. Not only is this an overwhelming station, as you worry about your friend or family member, but you also may be concerned about coming up with bail money for them.
How much is bail, anyway? The answer to that question isn’t as clear-cut as it may seem. Unfortunately, the cost to bail someone out of jail varies greatly.
How Much Is Bail?
The answer here depends. Not everyone gets out on bail. If the person is dangerous, committed a serious crime, is a threat to the community, is a flight risk, and/or has a history of not appearing in court, there’s a good chance that a judge will deny bail.
If the judge does decide to release a defendant on bail, they also get to decide the amount. The prosecutor will typically as for a certain amount, the defense attorney will typically argue for a lesser amount, and the judge has to make the final decision.
Things the judge may consider when determining a bail amount include:
- Prior criminal history
- Age
- Whether the defendant is a public safety threat
- Record of appearing for court
- Other pending charges or cases
Once a judge sets the bail amount, your options are to come up with money or sit in jail until you take the case to trial or decide to plead guilty. The only other option is to appeal your bail amount if you feel it is too high, but the success of these types of appeals is unlikely.
Bail is subjective, as the Eighth Amendment gives us the right to be free from “excessive fines or bail” but what is excessive varies from person to person.
Average Bail Amounts
It’s hard to give a number when discussing average bail amounts, as there are so many things that factor in. However, you can expect to pay more for felonies than misdemeanors.
For serious felonies, like murder, rape, and assault, bail could be upwards of several hundreds of thousands of dollars or even one million dollars.
For less serious offenses, you may be looking at a few thousand dollars.
I Can’t Afford Bail: Now What?
If your loved one doesn’t have the money for bail and you can’t come up with it either, you may have to contact a bail bondsperson. When people can’t afford bail, the bail bondsperson will put up the bail in exchange for a fee and collateral.
For example, if your loved one has bail set at $10,000, they may be able to get out if they can come up with 10%, which is $1000. If that is still too much money, a bail bondsperson will put up that $1000, take a fee from you, and then accept something as collateral (property such as a home or car).
If the person out on bail doesn’t show back up to court, the bail bondsperson is going to collect that collateral to make their money back. Learn more about bail bonds here.
Bail Your Loved One Out of Jail Without Delay
If you have a family member or friend who is in jail, you may be wondering “How much is bail” and “when can I get them out?”. Typically, the bail amount will depend on their crime and their history, and once bail is set, you can get them out as soon as you have the money together.
Even if you don’t have the cash on hand, a bail bondsperson can help you get them out of jail.
If you found this bail explanation useful, be sure to check out some of our other legal articles before you go.