What does bond forfeiture mean, well a bail bond is an amount of money, or value of property, determined by the court for arrestees or defendants to ensure their appearance at court on scheduled dates.
Those with money can personally cover this amount so they can be released temporarily until the verdict, while some turn to a bail bond company that serves as their guarantor. Basically, a bail bond is a type of insurance that the defendant will uphold the terms of agreement with the court.
What does bond forfeiture mean?
Legal experts define it is the encasement of the guarantee by the beneficiary under the terms of the agreement.
It’s usually what happens when arrestees or defendants fail to appear in court. The bail bond company has to pay the outstanding amount due to the inability of its “client” to uphold the guarantee agreement. Forfeited bonds cannot be refunded and will already become the property of the jury assigned to the case.
Differences among bail bond forfeitures
In criminal cases, the absence of the defendant in scheduled court appearances leads to the bond forfeiture conditions provided above.
On the other hand, when it comes to civil cases, bond forfeiture comes in the form of deprivation or destruction of a right as consequence of the “non-performance” of an established obligation.
“It’s important to mention as well that bond forfeiture is not an automatic action.”
If the reason for the failure to show up in court is a valid one, adjustments are usually made. Now, if the judge does not think the reason presented for defendant’s absence is valid, he (the judge) will issue a warrant of arrest for the defendant.
If the defendant is still nowhere to be found on the date for the serving of the warrant, the court will already proceed with bond forfeiture.
A bond forfeiture is really the main consequence of a released defendant’s violation of the release conditions that the government and he had agreed upon.
A defendant has a lot to lose by failing to make an appearance on scheduled court dates; there’s a lot of money involved (as the case is with bond forfeiture), and of course, his absence will also have a huge impact on the integrity of his personal case.
If you’re still asking yourself “What does forfeiture mean?” then call an Eight Ball Bail Bonds representative today to help you better understand its meaning.