Laws concerning bail & bail bonds in Florida are found in Florida Statutes Chapter 903. A defendant in a criminal case is entitled to bail in virtually all types of criminal cases pursuant to the laws in the State of Florida. Bail in a criminal proceeding sets a monetary amount that a defendant is required to pay to the Sheriff to be released from jail pending a resolution of the case and terms that a defendant must abide by while not in jail in order to continue to stay out on bail. A defendant's bail can be revoked if the defendant fails to abide by the conditions of release. The stated purpose for setting bail is to make sure that the defendant will appear at future criminal proceedings. In addition, the terms of the criminal defendant's bail are established to protect the community at large from unreasonable danger. Once the proceedings are resolved, the amount used to post the bond is returned or used to pay the costs & fines. When a criminal defendant doesn't have the all of the money to pay the bail, he can use what is called a bail bondsman who, will typically, post a surety bond. A criminal surety bond is, in essence, an insurance policy specifically permitted by Florida law. The bail bondsman is simply an insurance agent who issues the policy. The amount of money which is paid to the bondsman is known as the premium for the insurance policy. When the bondsman presents the surety bond to the bail unit at the Sheriff's office, the bail bondsman is then liable for the full amount of the bail if the defendant does not appear at future hearings. Since some bonds are for extremely large amounts of money,, the insurance company pays the bond if the defendant fails to appear. If you happen to be in a position where you can post the full amount of the bail without using a bail bondsman, you will either get that money back when the proceedings are concluded or, in the alternative, it can be applied to court costs and fines, if there are any. One of the advantages of using the services of a bail bondsman to post a surety bond is that you don't need to have all of the money. A typical criminal bond premium is 10%, but it can be more under certain circumstances. Usually, the benefit is that it allows an individual to post a higher bond than they typically have. If the amount of the bail is set at $100,000, the defendant will be released from custody for $10,000. The negative aspect to using a bondsman to post a criminal surety bond is that you do not get the money returned to you when the criminal proceedings are concluded. The premium which was paid to the bail bondsman is the bondsman's to keep.For further information regarding criminal lawyer, dui lawyer and criminal attorneys please contact us at: The Law Offices of Rosenberg and Dye 201 S Biscayne BlvdMiami, FL 33131(305)459-3286