Arrested for first time DUI in L.A. or Orange County?

I've gotten several calls lately from people wanting to post bail for a friend or loved one who got arrested for DUI. In Los Angeles County, the bail for a first time DUI, 23152(a)VC or 23152(b)VC is $5,000. In Orange County, the bail is $2,500.

If someone is arrested for a DUI and it is counted as their 1st DUI within 10 years, they have a local driver's license and no other holds or charges, they are usually released on their own recognizance after a waiting period of typically 4-6 hours. The person also must have cleared a warrant check. The time for the warrant check to clear can take anywhere from an hour to 24 hours depending on the jail.

A release on their own recognizance means they are released on their own promise to appear in court as ordered. This means you do not have to post bail to get them out. In some rare situations, a bond can allow them to get released earlier but MOST of the time, you are better off waiting for them to be released on their own recognizance.

Some bail agents will take your money, rush down to the jail and try to post the bail bond before the person has been reviewed for an O.R. release. Once the person is released on the bail bond, you can't get your money back from the bail bond company.

Other times, with larger bonds neither the bail agent or the family have any way of knowing the person is being considered for an O.R. release. They find out from the defendant upon his release. He tells them the detention release officer told him he was going to be released on his own recognizance. This rarely happens but when it does it causes an unhappy situation. At some jails, if a person is eligible for an O.R. release, the jail won't take a bail bond.

How I got started in the bail bonds business

People often ask me how I got started in the bail bond business. I got started in this business in 1984. I answered an ad for a live-in babysitting job in Huntington Beach. To apply for the job, I was given directions to a bail bonds office in Norwalk. When I arrived, a man wearing gold chains and a Hawaiian shirt walked up to the counter. I told him I was there to apply for the babysitting job. He told me that position had been filled. He saw on my application I had computer experience. He said there was an office position available. I explained the reason I applied for the babysitting job was because I was looking for a place to live. He told me that could be arranged.

There was a second interview at a house in Huntington Harbor. He offered me $35 a week plus room and board no matter how many hours I worked. My job description would be limo driver and general office. I bargained for $50 a week.

I had just turned 19 and was living with my parents in their two bedroom house. My brother had just arrived back home from Germany after being discharged from the Army. With him he brought his wife and two sons who were now also living at my parents house. I had been sleeping on the couch because they had taken over my room. I was at that age when you get antsy to move out on your own anyhow. I had looked at rooms for rent and couldn't afford one so I thought a live-in job would be the next best way to go.

I was a business major at Cal State Long Beach. I had to withdraw from my classes in order to work at the bail bonds office. When I did this I told myself it would just be for a semester. I still have mild regrets about not finishing my degree and haven't completely ruled out doing so.

Well, the bail bondsman and the ex-college co-ed got to know each other pretty well spending all that time together driving and working long hours together. Eventually, we got married and had two children together in addition to the son he already had.

I was an integral part in transforming the image of the company. We did away with the gold chains and Hawaiian shirt image. It was replaced with a more professional style of dress, suits, slacks, dress shirts, etc.

Questions about Bail Bond Premiums

I will address these situations in separate entries. To clarify, these are things that may come up after you have paid the money to the bail bondsman and your friend or loved one is out on bail. It is important to know, the premium you pay for the bail bond is fully earned upon the release of the person you had the bond posted for. If he or she walked out of the jail and got arrested just outside the jail, you would not be entitled to a refund. This rarely happens but it can. This would apply whether the person was out on the bond for one second or one year, the premium is fully earned and you do not get a penny of it back. Most agents these days are pretty good about explaining this to people. Even so, there is still confusion about the premium. Some people call up thinking the cost for the bond is going to be 10% of the 10%. Usually they are calling on a large bond, say $100,000 or more. Or we will explain that the cost for the bail bond is going to be $10,000 (on a $100,000 bond). We will explain it a few different ways. Then they will ask, "what do we pay you?". Other people are under the assumption they just have to give us something for collateral. They call up wanting to know if we can use their car for collateral. When that is the first question people ask, I find out how much the bail is and explain how much the cost for the bail bond will be. I explain that is our fee for putting up the full amount of the bail and it is non-refundable. Then I will explain what collateral is which I will go into in a different post. I am always happy to explain to people how bail bonds work and answer any of their bail related questions. I feel it is important for people to have a good understanding of the process and what their responsibilities are when they agree to be an Indemnitor or co-signer on a bail bond.

Please feel free to post any of your premium related questions and I will answer them as best I can.

Department of Insurance provides minimal information about bail bonds

Although most people have heard of bail bonds, when faced with unexpectedly having to obtain one, they may find they have little knowledge of how bail bonds work. The bail bond process overall can be very simple. You pay 10% of whatever the total bail amount is to the bail bond company. The bail bond company posts a bail bond for the full amount of the bail with the jail. The person you bailed out makes all of their court appearances and when the case is over, the bail bond company sends you a notice letting you know you are no longer financially responsible for the bail bond.

For most of the people we post bonds for, it remains a fairly simple process without any complications. When something does come up, you want to make sure you have knowledgeable bail bond professionals available to help you. The other important thing to note is bail bond companies have different ways of handling common situations that may occur. The way these situations are handled can mean the difference in whether or not you have to pay additional money or whether or not the person you bailed out gets to remain free on bond. These situations can be somewhat complicated to explain and you may never have to deal with them but it is better to at least have some knowledge about them and the different ways they are handled.