Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Bail bondsmen are in business. Their business is to take a risk on the defendant that the defendant will show up in court every time the case is scheduled. They become guarantors on strangers. If they lose that gamble, they owe $$$ to the court -- the full amount of the bond. (Of course, the bondsman can then come after the defendant in court to be repaid this full bond amount.)

What they get in return is that the defendant pays them a non-refundable percentage of the full bond. Check the bond contract, but I am sure that it says that the defendant does not get his up-front payment back if the case is dismissed, etc.

If the defendant got all his money back when the case was done (dismissed, pled, etc.), what's in it financially / business-wise for the bondsman???

The BENEFIT to the defendant in using a bondsman is that the defendant only has to fork out a small percentage of the full bond versus covering the bond payment out of his pocket to the court. For example, if the court set a $25,000 cash or surety bond, the defendant would have to pay $25,000 to the court OR get a suitable guarantor for that full amount. If the defendant paid the $25,000 out of pocket, he'd get back most of it (usually 90% or more) when the case was done, which could also be applied to pay fines/costs/etc. ... but that's still a lot of money to pay out-of-pocket to get out of jail. If he went with a bondsman, he might have to pay $2,500 out-of-pocket to the bondsman, and the bondsman becomes a surety / guarantor that the defendant will show up all the time.