HOW DO I BOND SOMEONE OUT OF JAIL?

1. You must have a bond amount to make bail on. When a person goes to jail they will see a magistrate judge and they will then be arraigned for their charges and have a bail amount set. It is possible to have your bail denied, but do not panic there are various routes you can go to have your bail amount set.

2. The fee to get out is typically 10% of the total bond amount. (Example: $10,000 bond will be $1,000 which is a non-refundable fee). Cox Bail Bonds offers payment plans and discounted rates for your convenience. You can easily make payments on our Payment Center page. We also accept cash, credit and money orders.

3. Some bonds require collateral and some do not. At Cox Bail Bonds most bail bonds less than $75,000 we can do without collateral, but anything over we will need land or a house pledged for the bond. The property cannot have a homestead exemption to qualify. After the case is disposed and all costs have been paid we will submit a release of lien to the county the property was filed in. We also accept cash collateral, but we DO NOT accept cars, jewelry or any other items for collateral.

4. A co-signer will be required for every person on bond. This person is financially responsible to make sure the defendant goes to court and pays balance of premium, if any. The cosigner must be older than 21, and currently employed or show proof of stable income. If the defendant fails to comply with any rules or monetary agreement the cosigner will hold responsibility until the matters are resolved.

5. After the payment and cosigner is complete the bond will be posted. On average, it takes about 6-12 hours to get out of county jail. (This estimate could be shorter or longer)

6. To successfully complete your bail you must make it to all of your court dates and pay all required fee's to the bondsman. While on bond it is very important to keep up with any and all court dates or bail conditions. If you miss a court date you will violate your bond and risk your freedom. Same for bond conditions such as a breathalyzer for a DWI and GPS ankle monitor-keep up with your stuff. When the defendant's' case is dismissed, probated or accepts jail time the co-signer is then removed from liability and the defendant's case is over.

bond forfeitures

What is a bond forfeiture and can I make bail if I forfeit my bond?

Yes you can make another bond as long as there is another bond set. A bond forfeiture is simply when a defendant misses court and does not answer to their name when the judge calls court docket. In the event of missing court a few things happen. First off, a warrant is issued for the defendant's arrest and secondly the bond is typically raised double the amount. So if it was a $5,000 bond it will more than likely be raised to a $10,000 bond. In this moment it can really mess you up because now you have to pay twice as much as you did the first time you bonded out and there will be future court costs owed that will be liable against the co-signer and defendant.

Consequence for defendant missing court. You can risk your freedom jumping bail. Not only do you lose your bond, but if you never take care of the warrant and try to run or hide from the issue the courts and the bondsman can and will file bail jumping charges against the defendant. This charge can hold up to 10 years in prison. This is when a person unlawfully flees prosecution. The warrant will never go away and will only make your situation worst.

Consequence for co-signer missing court. If you co-signed for a bail bond and the person does not go to court or does not pay off their balance the co-signer is 100% liable and could end up in a lawsuit. When a person misses court the bondsman, and family have 6 months on a misdemeanor and 9 months on a felony to rectify the warrant or else the co-signer will have to pay the entire bond off and that's no joke. If you cosigned for a $10,000 felony bond and that person takes off to another country after 9 months the county will take a judgement and you will seriously have to pay $10,000 to the county that person was on bond.

BUT, if the defendant goes to jail or makes a new bond the cosigner is removed from the lawsuit, and this will help the defendant evade bail jumping charges.

Our owner, Mike Cox, in 2008 actually appealed a final judgement because the defendant was in custody in another county. Although the defendant was in custody the county still sued for the entire bond amounts which made him fight back and counter sue. After a 3 year battle Mr. Cox came out victorious. He amended the law in which the county stops calculating interest on a forfeited bail bond when that defendant is re-arrested. Mr. Cox is one of the first bondsman to change a law in the industry in over 100 years.

Mike Cox wins a victorious battle for the bail bond industry in the 2008 "Cox Vs. State of Texas"