On a TV show recently I heard the judge say:
"Bail is set at 15 million dollars, 5 million dollar bond".
What does this mean? I am familiar with a bail amount, but is this a total of 20 million dollars in two different collateral forms payable to the court or is this simply bad writing on the show and is effectively meaningless? There was no word "and" in the sentence so left it ambiguous from my point of view.
Basically, defendants who immediately secure their release with money are bailed out. Defendants who secure their release with collateral (property or a promise to pay) are bonded out. From findlaw.com: What's the Difference Between Bond and Bail?
If the defendant or his family pays bail, he's been bailed out of jail. But many criminal defendants don't have the funds to make bail. This is where bonds come in. Bonds are bail monies paid by a bail bond company. The defendant secures a loan with collateral, such as a car or house. He also pays a set fee, usually 10% of the bail amount. The bail bondsman then pays the court a portion of the bail monies and guarantees that the rest will be paid if the defendant disappears. Courts accept this as assurance because the defendant loses his property if he flees.
