Why do criminal defendants need a bonsman?

Whenever a person is arrested in Iowa the Court is going to need some assurance that the arrested person will appear at their upcoming court dates. The easiest way to make sure that they appear is to require them to remain in jail. Fortunately, in almost every case an amount of money is set as bail which a person can post with the Clerk of Court to obtain release from jail. For minor offenses, often times the judge will release someone on their own recognizance, which is their simple promise to appear for court.

Usually bail can be posted as either "cash or surety." This means that you can either post the money yourself or you can reach an agreement through a bail bondsman and then they will post the bail for you. A bail bondsman will usually require a percentage of the bail, such as 10%, and then they will be responsible for the remainder. The bail bondsman then will keep track of your whereabouts and make sure that you appear at your court dates. If you don't appear for court, they risk losing the money that they have posted. Once your case is concluded and you have appeared for all your court dates, the cash or surety is then released to whoever posted it to secure your release.

Another means to secure release from jail without posting any money is to be released with pre-trial supervision. This means that the Department of Corrections will be supervising your whereabouts while the charges are pending. There will be other requirements placed upon you, for example attending drug or alcohol counseling and testing.

If a person is unable to get out of jail through any of these options, they can then have their lawyer apply for a bail reduction. It is then possible to reach an agreement with a prosecutor for release, or for the Court to lower the bail.

There are many bail bondsmen across Iowa. Here are a few in the Des Moines area:

AAAA Freebird Bail Bonds (515) 244-8484
A-1 Bail Bonds (515) 240-0475
A-2-Z Bail Bonds (515) 288-5656
AAA Lederman Bail Bonds (515) 280-6511
Always Affordable Bail Bonds (515) 953-3134
American Bail Bonds (515) 243-5300
Bill's Cash Bonds (515) 243-1850
Collis Surety Bonding (515) 244-6621
Iowa Bail Bonds (515) 243-4411
Jail Busters (515) 244-6621