Recently there has been a shift in the bonding process. Magistrates and judges are regularly setting a pre-trial bonds (meaning no money). However, the more serious misdemeanors and felony cases still have high bonds set on them.
In theory, a person is less likely to ignore their case and skip court if they have a financial stake in it. In theory, a person is less likely to run off if they stand to lose all the money they put up.
When a defendant fails to appear in court, the judge regularly revoke and forfeit the bond. This means all the money put up on the bond is gone for good. If a bondsman is involved, they usually keep close tabs on the defendants for whom they wrote a bond.
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