Client Referral & Decision
The Massachusetts Bail Fund accepts referrals for clients represented by court-appointed counsel whose bail is $500.00 or less. If you clients bail is over $500.00 but family and friends can come up with the difference, the Massachusetts Bail Fund will combine funds and post the clients bail. If you have a client you think would benefit from the Bail Fund please make a referral here. A client referral includes information about the potential client, their case, and their life and circumstances. Completed requests go to a committee for review and decision. This committee uses a scoring tool to assess the applicants' situation, taking into account all relevant aspects of their case and life. Client referrals and decisions are handled as quickly as possible - often within hours or days of receiving the completed application. We understand that spending even one day in jail can have disastrous effects on someone's life and we act accordingly.
Posting Bail
Once a decision is made by the review committee a Bail Fund volunteer goes to the jail where the client is being held during the hours when a Bail Commissioner will be present and able to process bails. This process can sometimes take fifteen minutes and can sometimes take three hours, depending on the timeliness of the Bail Commissioner. The volunteer posts the bail, in cash, as well as the mandatory, nonrefundable, $40.00 fee required by the Bail Commissioner. The Bail Fund will cover this fee in addition to the up to $500 in bail funds it can provide. Where the bail fund contributes up to $500 to a bail that is higher, the Bail Fund and the client's friend or family member are co-sureities on the clients' case.
Pending Trial
While the clients' case is ongoing their bail money is kept by the courts. If the client defaults (meaning does not come to court when required) the bail money can be forfeited, which means the Bail Fund loses that amount of money. For this reason we ask that all clients and their attorneys sign a document outlining what's at stake if the bail money is forfeited.
Case Closed
Once a clients' case ends, either through exoneration or conviction, the bail money is free to be released back to the Bail Fund. A volunteer goes to the court where the case was heard in order to have the bail money released back to the Bail Fund. That money can then be used for the next client who can't afford bail.
The Massachusetts Bail Fund accepts referrals for clients represented by court-appointed counsel whose bail is $500.00 or less. If you clients bail is over $500.00 but family and friends can come up with the difference, the Massachusetts Bail Fund will combine funds and post the clients bail. If you have a client you think would benefit from the Bail Fund please make a referral here. A client referral includes information about the potential client, their case, and their life and circumstances. Completed requests go to a committee for review and decision. This committee uses a scoring tool to assess the applicants' situation, taking into account all relevant aspects of their case and life. Client referrals and decisions are handled as quickly as possible - often within hours or days of receiving the completed application. We understand that spending even one day in jail can have disastrous effects on someone's life and we act accordingly.
Posting Bail
Once a decision is made by the review committee a Bail Fund volunteer goes to the jail where the client is being held during the hours when a Bail Commissioner will be present and able to process bails. This process can sometimes take fifteen minutes and can sometimes take three hours, depending on the timeliness of the Bail Commissioner. The volunteer posts the bail, in cash, as well as the mandatory, nonrefundable, $40.00 fee required by the Bail Commissioner. The Bail Fund will cover this fee in addition to the up to $500 in bail funds it can provide. Where the bail fund contributes up to $500 to a bail that is higher, the Bail Fund and the client's friend or family member are co-sureities on the clients' case.
Pending Trial
While the clients' case is ongoing their bail money is kept by the courts. If the client defaults (meaning does not come to court when required) the bail money can be forfeited, which means the Bail Fund loses that amount of money. For this reason we ask that all clients and their attorneys sign a document outlining what's at stake if the bail money is forfeited.
Case Closed
Once a clients' case ends, either through exoneration or conviction, the bail money is free to be released back to the Bail Fund. A volunteer goes to the court where the case was heard in order to have the bail money released back to the Bail Fund. That money can then be used for the next client who can't afford bail.
Bail is a renewable resource. Once bail is returned your money can be used to post bail for the next person who needs help.