Bail Agent Blog

Pre-trial release has a long history rooted in historic English statutes and laws. Bail laws in the United States developed out of these English laws that date back to even the 13th Century. When independence was declared by the colonies in 1776, bail laws took on slightly modified interpretation to more closely represent the ideals of the newly developing American principles. The early state Constitutions of some states, such as Virginia stipulated that, “excessive bail ought not to be required,” however, “if a crime be punishable by life or limb, or it be manslaughter and there be good cause to believe the party guilty thereof, he shall not be admitted to bail.” [Read more →]

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Pre-trial release has a lengthy history that dates back before the 13th century in England. Methods were used prior to the 13th century to ensure that criminals would appear in court, however, it was not until right around the time of the 13th century that the bail bonds process was introduced. In the United States, bail bonds were the result of the English statutes and policies in the early colonial days. [Read more →]

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On one hand OJ should have a really high bail because of his constant trouble with the law and potential for fleeing. On the other hand “bail” is used as incentive for a defendant to return to court when they are suppose to. Besides where can OJ go in this world that he cant be found?

He can’t run anywhere without being found. The public has such a watchful eye over OJ he couldn’t even go to the farthest areas of the planet without being known. Besides that I’m sure Dog The Bounty Hunter would go get him. Or maybe with his recent past he might decide not to. If he were to skip bail I’m sure everyone around him would quickly become a Bounty Hunter.

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Aside from the high risk and the fugitives, the missed vacations and phones ringing at all hours, bail agents have a pretty good job. Occasionally we are handed a case that reminds us how effective the bail system can be. [Read more →]

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Once when I was working with Jake, one of our defendants failed to appear in court. We had doubts about him to begin with, and he had caused nothing but trouble. He’d lied on his paperwork, [Read more →]

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A defendant charged with child molestation skipped town. I had his photo, and I knew he lived near a shopping mall where his sister worked. Even though he left his home, I figured his sister was the best lead I had. [Read more →]

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This is a frightening situation about a criminal who knew the law too well. A convicted sex offender, he was required to register in California, where he lived with his wife, stepchildren and one child from a previous marriage.
He worked as a truck driver. [Read more →]

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It happened about twice a week between midnight and 2:00 a.m. A guy named Joe would call and with a bunch of slang talk, explain to me that he needed to bail out his girlfriend who had just been arrested. He never bothered to change his name or his accent. He just kept calling, and every time he called, he’d say, “Yeah, this is Joe. My girlfriend’s in jail.”
I didn’t have to be a seasoned veteran to know he was a pimp calling to bail out one of his prostitutes. [Read more →]

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I had just started working as a bondsman and I was with a big agency. My two bosses wanted me at court with them one day. A defendant was supposed to appear, and they intended to surrender him back to the court. [Read more →]

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U.S. v. Humberto Laura-Cota, 262 F. Supp.2d 1118 (S.D. Cal. 2003) set aside forfeiture of the bond because the Government increased the surety’s risk by deporting the defendant.

In United States v. King, 349 F.3d 964 (7th Cir. 2003) the trial court, over the government’s objection, permitted the defendant to travel to Nigeria despite the fact that he had shown what the court calls a propensity for flight. However, he in fact returned to New York and then skipped. The Seventh Circuit’s decision contains excellent language on exoneration of the surety by an unconsented to increase in the risk assumed, including “That a material change in risk can discharge the surety’s obligation is a staple of suretyship law; the principle is not limited to criminal cases.” [Read more →]

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