Landry seen as underdog to Boustany
February 7, 2012Joseph Clovis Autin
February 9, 2012
Scott Brant relocated to Thibodaux from his native New Orleans in 1995, to attend Nicholls State University. After graduating with two degrees, he entered the bail bond industry, working under the mentorship and authority of others to hone his skills. In October 2003, he set out on his own and now regularly serves clients and courts in Lafourche, Terrebonne and Assumption parishes.
A bail bondsman, Brant explained, is part financial institution and part insurance group that gets involved when a suspect cannot afford a bond.
“I put up the [court ordered amount] in and insurance policy,” he said.
A bail bondsman’s job, in addition to financing a bail bond n on which 12 percent interest is charged in Louisiana, except Jefferson Parish where it is 12.5 percent and Orleans at 13 percent n is to make sure the subject involved shows up for court.
The purchase and posting of a bail bond is a contractual agreement guaranteed by a bondsman, an insurance company, the defendant and an a co-signer. The bondsman and insurance company guarantee to a court that the defendant will appear each time the judge issues an order.
If the defendant fails to appear in court, it is up to the bondsman and insurance company to produce that individual. If the bondsman and insurance company cannot produce the defendant as ordered, the bondsman and insurance company are left to pay the full bond amount plus any fees and penalities required by law.
“The bail bond business is like a loan up front up front with the interest up front,” Brant said. “We are regulated by the Department of Insurance which sets the percentage of what we charge. You pay back a flat rate [in our case] 12 percent of the face value of the bond, unless the bond is $1,000 or under.” The state minimum is $120.
A bondsman puts up the court-mandated amount as an insurance policy for which the bondsman is a personal guarantor. The contract holds the bondsman responsible to make sure suspects appear for all court proceedings. “If they don’t then I have 180 days to locate the defendant and bring them back to jail or get them back into court,” Brant said.
The client load for this bondsman runs between 750 and 1,000 individuals per year, with domestic violence cases being the most common charge. About 30 percent are repeat offenders.
According to the Louisiana Department of Corrections, there are approximately 18,780 adult inmates incarcerated in state prison facilities. Another 20,300 adults housed in local jails and transitional inmate programs, and nearly 90,000 of persons in custody are minors. Almost every one of these people has made use of a bail bondsman as their bail agent.
This Thibodaux-based bondsman views his work as providing a service by being able to finance bonds when banks are closed after business hours and on weekends. He said that bail bondsmen also help alleviate overcrowding in jails. “I even have people who call me later and thank me.”
Describing himself as a workaholic, Brant advises those going into business to understand that it is hard work, “but a great thing to do.”
People know when Scott Brant is coming down the street. As an owner of A-1 Bail Bonds of Lafourche Brant’s work is considered part financial lending and in part insurance. MIKE NIXON
