If you cannot afford to pay for your bail bond, you have a few options:
- Hire a bail bondsman: A bail bondsman will pay the bail amount in exchange for a non-refundable fee and collateral, such as property or jewelry.
- Seek help from a bail bond fund: There are non-profit organizations that offer assistance to people who cannot afford to pay for their bail bond.
- Ask for a reduction in bail amount: You or your attorney can request that the judge reduce the bail amount to an amount you can afford to pay.
- Remain in jail: If all other options have been exhausted and bail cannot be paid, the defendant must remain in jail until their trial.
Remember that failure to appear in court after being released on bail can result in the forfeiture of the bail bond and additional legal consequences.
If you cannot make the full bail amount to the court on your own, and you cannot afford a bondsman at 10% of the bail amount, then you are likely going to be doing time in jail. However, you can try to make a please to the lawyer to ask for a hardship release, which is rarely allowed.
