Getting Your Friend Out of Jail in Nashville, Tennessee
One of the first calls that an attorney may receive about a prospective client may come from a friend or family member, who is calling on behalf their loved one, who is behind bars. Typically the first thing that person needs to know is what the bail amount is so as to know if he or she can afford to post such bail or go through a bondsman.
If the bail amount is very affordable then such individual may choose to post the full amount of bail rather than go through a bondsman since at the conclusion of such case in Nashville, Tennessee (plea disposition, jury trial, etc.) as long as the criminal defendant makes it to each of his or her court dates then the amount of bail is returned to the payor after payment of court costs and fees.
However, most choose to go through the assistance of a bondsman. Bondsmen charge 10% of the bail amount to act as a surety to the court of the individual’s presence at trial. The 10% paid to a bondsmen is never returned, but is a small fraction of what one would have to tie up with the court.
In Nashville, if the bail is set in excess of $75,000 than a source hearing for the court to legitimate the source of such funds is required regardless of whether the person is posting the full bail amount or attempting to post the money through a bondsman. In such cases, loved ones cannot immediately post a bond to the court, but should immediately contact an attorney to represent them on the source hearing.