I consume a lot of law related content and I always hear about bail and bond being used in the same context almost interchangeably. I googled it but I still can’t really make sense of it.
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“Bail” is an amount set by a judge intended to secure the defendant’s presence at future court appearances, and is based on the severity of the crime, the defendant’s risk to the public, and the resources available to the defendant that might be used to escape the jurisdiction (“flight risk”). Bail can be forfeited if the defendant fails to appear at future court appearances, and is a legal obligation to the state (via the court).
“Bond” in this context is more of a process by which a defendant pays a bail bondsman some percent of his or her total bail amount, and the bondsman fronts the full amount of the bail to the court. Bonds may be collateralized, so that the bondsman can recoup losses if the defendant fails to appear in the future and the court decides to forfeit the bail. A bond is a private relationship between the defendant (or someone acting on their behalf) and the bail bondsman.
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