Q: question about bail money if I bail somebody out cash only for $15,000 and some of the charges got dismissed
Does the judge have to give the money back
A:
The main purpose of bail is to guarantee the bailed person's appearance at all of the court's hearings. So the presumption is that the bail will be returned to you once the case is finalized (adjudicated, in legalese). It usually takes the court two to three weeks to get the money back to you when that happens.
Sometimes the judge of the case will use part of the bail money to pay any fines, court fees, or restitution. When that happens, the balance remaining is then refunded to you. If you don't want that to happen, someone (possibly the person charged with the crime or his/her attorney) needs to tell the judge that it wasn't the defendant's money that was used to bail him or her out of jail. Rather, it was your money. Once the judge knows that, they might not use the bail money for fines, fees, or restitution. Rather, they would likely have the money refunded to you once the case is done.
If the person bailed out is still facing some of the charges, they don't usually refund (exhonerate in legalese) part of the bail just because some charges got dropped. The refund usually does not occur until after the case is either dismissed in full, or the defendant is sentenced. I hope this helpled? Good luck! Mike Edwards
A: Only if ALL of the charges are dismissed.
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