Applying for a bail bond means you need to meet a few qualifications. For one, whoever the bail bond is for needs to have actually been granted bail by the judge; sometimes the judge will deny bail, meaning that person cannot get a bail bond. Another qualification is the need for a cosigner, a person, who is not the defendant, who will assume responsibility for the defendant, making sure they go to court when he or she has court appointments. If the defendant does not go to court, the cosigner can face financial consequences.
This sounds like the cosigner is put into a very risky situation and can be completely taken advantage of, but the cosigner does have protections.
● The cosigner can request that the defendant takes some tests and evaluations – drug tests, psych evals – before signing the bail bond.
● The cosigner can remove his or her signature from the bail bond at any time they wish, if they have good reason to believe that the defendant will skip court. If this happens, the defendant will be taken back into custody.
