When an individual commits a federal crime, he or she will have to appear before a judge in court to determine whether or not bail will be allowed. During the hearing, the judge will grant the defendant one of the following:
- Detention without bail
- Release on bail without restrictions
- Release on personal recognizance
- Release on bail with restrictions such ad GPS monitoring, drug and alcohol testing, etc.
When it comes to federal bail bonds, the standard premium rate is set at 15 percent of the total bail amount rather than the 10 percent charged for less serious offenses. For example, if the total bail amount is $100,000 dollars, the premium owed to the bail bondsman will be $15,000. The reason for the rate increase with federal offenses is because the higher risk that the bail bondsman becomes liable for.
Due to the fact that federal law and state law function differently from one another, each one has a slightly different process to go through when it comes to bail. With state courts, the defendants are almost always allowed bail so they can be temporarily released while waiting for their court date. However, with federal cases, where the defendant is being charged with a crime committed against the United States, there is greater chance that he or she will be denied bail for committing a more serious crime. In the U.S. there are more than 100 different categories of offenses that are labeled as federal crimes. That totals more than 4,500 crimes that are considered to be federal offenses. Some examples of federal crimes include the following:
- Most types of fraud
- Drug trafficking and sales
- Kidnapping
- Counterfeiting
- Crimes committed at airports
- And more!
Both state bail bonds and federal bail bonds both serve the same purpose in guaranteeing a defendants appearance in court once they are temporarily released.
