From Bad to Worse: Why Skipping Bail Should Never Be an Option
Skipping out on bail isn't just an "option" that most people hope they never have to use - it should never be an option in the first place. Getting arrested is already a very serious situation for everyone involved. You don't want to take a bad situation and somehow manage to make it even worse by skipping out on bail. Not only will you be making things more difficult for yourself, but you'll also be creating huge number of new problems for the person who was kind enough to bail you out in the first place.
Loss of Collateral
One of the first things that will happen if you skip out on bail is that the person who put up the money for bail will lose whatever they had to use as collateral on the bond. If the person who bailed you out collected the necessary money through various means or emptied their savings account in order to help out a friend or family member in need, they can consider that money "gone" the moment you don't show up for court. This could create an extremely negative financial situation for that person depending on the total amount of the bond in question.
Future Bail
From a personal standpoint, your chances of ever getting bail in the future also go down to what is essentially zero if you skip out on bail a single time. Even though nobody ever plans on the need to get bailed out multiple times in their lifetime, it would still be a nice option to have. No matter what crime you would be charged with in the future, it would be very difficult to get a judge to even consider setting bail if you've already proved that you can't be trusted to hold up your end of the bargain in the past.
Co-Signers
In the event that you run out on bail, the people who put up the money for the bond are responsible for a number of different things. If a bail bondsman needs to hire a bounty hunter to come and get you back from wherever you're hiding, for example, those people who just wanted to help out a friend will be financially responsible for any additional expenses that they incur.
Skipping out on bail for any reason creates huge issues for everyone involved. Not only are you making life extremely difficult (and potentially expensive) for the people who tried to help you out, but you're also all but guaranteeing extended jail times both now and in the future.
Larry Nowak
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