Penal Code 240
When a person is arrested for a penal code 240 violation, the person is arrested for assault. Assault is a misdemeanor that has a bail rate of $5,000 in all counties across California. This bail rate, along with the full bail rate schedule, is determined by a panel of judges that meet on an annual basis to review bail rates for all penal code violations. In addition to bail, the defendant may also have to be held for six hours and issued a citation for an assault violation.
When a person is given the opportunity to get out of jail on bail, the defendant may use the services of a bail bonding agency. A bail bonding agency will provide the defendant with the funds that are necessary for the defendant’s bail. These funds will be given to the court in the form of a bail bond. When the defendant fulfills a legal obligation to the court, these funds will be released back to the payee.
In order to receive the services of a bail bonding company, a defendant will have to pay the agency’s fees, which are usually about ten percent of the total amount of the bail. If bail is set at $5,000, then the defendant may have to pay a bail bonding agency $500 in order to get out of jail through the use of the agency’s services.
Additionally, the bail bonding agency will likely require the defendant to provide some assets that the bail bonding agency can hold as a security that the defendant will fulfill the legal obligation. In the event that the defendant does not fulfill a legal obligation, the bail bonding agency may assert its right to seize these assets, which will be redeemed in exchange for the lost bail bond money.
The bail bonding agency may also hire a bounty hunter to track down a defendant that has not fulfilled a legal obligation. The bounty hunter will rearrest the defendant, take him or her into custody and help to ensure that the defendant fulfills the outstanding legal obligation. The U.S. is the only country that allows legal bounty hunting. |
