What is the difference between bail and bond in Oklahoma?
Answer: Bail is the dollar amount that the judge says that you have to post—the amount of money or collateral, or property—that you have to post, that an individual has to post in order to be released from jail, pending the outcome of their case. Bond is someone coming in and saying, “Okay I’m going to post their bail,” or, “I’m going to stand good for their bail if they don’t appear.” That’s why they’re called bail bondsman. Because they come in and they post that bond. Basically it’s like a surety bond; it’s like insurance to ensure that the accused appears at the appointed time and place for court. But bail is the dollar amount of cash, property, whatever, that has to be posted, or secured, or promised in obtaining someone’s release from jail. A bond is the surety or the document to the insurance document that provides—that says, “Yes, this is going to be paid if something happens.”