What is bond and how does the judge decide the amount of bond?
Bond is the amount of money that a defendant must pay in order to be released from jail. A cash bond means that the defendant must post the money himself or have someone post it for him. A surety bond means that a bondsman may post the bond on the defendant’s behalf. A personal recognizance (PR) bond means that the defendant does not have to post any money to be released. When deciding the type and amount of bond, the judge will consider whether the defendant poses a danger to the community and/or is a risk to flee. When making that determination, the judge considers the type of charges against the defendant; whether the defendant is a resident of the community, and if so, for how long; whether the defendant is employed; whether the defendant has family members residing within the community; and whether the defendant has ever failed to appear before. The judge may also place certain conditions on a defendant’s bond such as not drinking alcohol or not having contact with the alleged vic
