For persons arrested and taken into custody, there shall be four kinds of bail used in this state. No other form of bail may be approved and accepted by any judicial officer, court clerk, magistrate, or any other person designated to accept and approve bail as stipulated in Division 1, Sections 15-13-100 to 15-13-110, inclusive. The four kinds of bail shall be judicial public bail, cash bail, property bail, and professional surety bail. Their definitions are as follows:

(1) CASH BAIL. Cash bail is when the defendant or some person on behalf of the defendant deposits cash in an amount equal to the total sum of the bail as set by the judicial officer to the clerk of the court having jurisdiction over the case. Acceptance of cash bail shall conform to Division 9.
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Terms Used In Alabama Code 15-13-111

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • property: includes both real and personal property. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • real property: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(2) JUDICIAL PUBLIC BAIL. Judicial public bail is the release of any defendant without any condition of an undertaking relating to, or a deposit of, security. Judicial public bail shall be granted to persons subjected to custodial arrest only by a judicial officer having jurisdiction over the defendant and in accordance with the procedures established in Division 7 .
(3) PROFESSIONAL SURETY BAIL. Professional surety bail is when a defendant is released on bail by having a professional surety or professional bail company execute a bond on behalf of the defendant and becoming surety on the bail. Professional surety or professional bail companies shall meet the qualification requirements of Division 10.
(4) PROPERTY BAIL. Property bail is when a defendant is released on bail by having at least one or more real property owners that own real property in the state, execute or become bail or surety for the defendant. Real property owners shall qualify and meet requirements applying to property bail as set out in Division 8.
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