Judicial bonds are written for parties to lawsuits or other court actions (plaintiffs and defendants).
In anticipation of a favorable judgment, plaintiffs often want to take possession of the property, cash or merchandise in question without waiting for the trial. Those who are financially reliable can often achieve that goal by posting plaintiffs court bond.
The plaintiffs bond is usually required to protect the defendant should the court decide that he, and not the plaintiff, is entitled to the property or the judgment.
Types of plaintiff bonds include Indemnity to Sheriff Bonds which protect the sheriff against suit when dispossessing a person of property or goods and Cost Bonds which guarantee payment of trial costs.
Other types of plaintiffs bonds include Cost on Appeal, Injunction, Attachment, Objecting Creditors, Replevin and Petitioning-Creditors-in-Bankruptcy Bonds.
The second type of Judicial Bond is the defendant’s bond. A defendant in a court case might want a bond to counteract the effect of the bond that the plaintiff has furnished.
Some common types of defendant’s bonds are Release of Attachment and Counter Replevin. Generally speaking, these bonds have proven to be more hazardous than plaintiffs bonds. Accordingly they can only rarely be written without the posting of adequate collateral to protect the surety from loss.
In criminal actions, bail bonds are the most common type of defendant’s bonds. They guarantee that the defendant will show up for trial.
