HOW TO PAY BAIL IN NEW YORK CITY

BAIL IS RANSOM.

As a general matter, in New York City, bail is ransom. It is money you pay (or property you pledge) to guarantee the defendant’s return to court. If the defendant fails to return to court, the bail may be “forfeited”. A bail bondsman is someone who will take a fee for the service of taking on part of the risk of posting the bail. The bondsman may require his own collateral, or pledged property, in addition to his fee. If you can afford the full cash bail, it is generally better for you to pay that than to use a bail bondsman, as you will save yourself the fee that the bondsman takes.

Where can you pay bail? In New York City, you can usually pay cash bail at the courthouse at the time of the defendant’s arraignment. Any time after that, it can be paid at the Brooklyn Detention Complex (“Brooklyn House”), the Manhattan Detention Complex (“MDC”, formerly known as the “Bernard B. Kerik Complex”, until the former commissioner of both the Department of Correction and the Police Department was indicted and his name taken down from the sign in the dead of night), or the Vernon C. Bain Center, on Rikers Island.

For more details on how to post bail in New York, go to

Here at my firm, we’ve developed a good working relationship with Empire Bail Bonds:

bailempire.com

We gain no benefit from our clients using Empire, other than we find them easy to work with, quick to respond, and their rates are reasonable,

And please don’t hesitate to call our firm for further assistance!