1. History

2. Modern practice
    Training and requirements   Pricing    Recovery and bounty hunting    Alternatives and controversy  

3. In popular culture

4. See also

5. References

6. Further reading

7. External links

A bail bondsman, bail bond agent or bond dealer is any person, agency or corporation that will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of a defendant in court.

Bail bond agents are almost exclusively found in the United States and its former commonwealth, the Philippines.^[1] In most other countries, the practice of bounty hunting is illegal.^[1] The industry is represented by various trade associations, with the Professional Bail Agents of the United States and the American Bail Coalition forming an umbrella group for bail agents and surety companies and the National Association of Fugitive Recovery Agents representing the bounty-hunting industry.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} Organizations that represent the legal profession, including the American Bar Association and the National District Attorneys Association, oppose the practice of bond dealing, claiming that it discriminates against poor and middle-class defendants while doing nothing for public safety.^[2]

History

The first modern bail bonds business in the United States was established by Peter P. McDonough in San Francisco in 1898.^[3] However, clay tablets from ca. 2750 BC describe surety bail bond agreements made in the Akkadian city of Eshnunna, located in modern-day Iraq.^[4] {{Citation needed span|Indemnitors

obtained the release of defendants from jail by paying sums of currency and pledging, with their own property as collateral, that said defendants would show up in court.|date=April 2014}}

Modern practice

According to 1996 figures, one quarter of all released felony defendants fail to appear at trial, but those released via bail bond appear more frequently than other defendants.^[5]

Bond agents maintain standing security agreements with local court officials, under which they post irrevocable "blanket" bonds to be paid if the defendants for whom they are providing surety fail to appear. Arrangements with insurance companies, banks, or other credit providers enable bond agents to draw on such security even outside normal business hours, eliminating the need to deposit cash or property with the court every time a new defendant is bailed out.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

Laws governing the practice of bail bonds vary by state,^[6] although the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, sponsored by the Uniform Law Commission, has been widely adopted.^[6] In the state of California, bail bond agreements{{vague|date=January 2019}} must be verified and certified by the California Department of Insurance.^[7] The practice of commercial bail bonds is unlawful in the states of Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin.^[8]

Applicable federal laws include the Excessive Bail Clause of the Eighth Amendment and the Bail Reform Act of 1984,^[9] incorporated into the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

Training and requirements

"There are 18 states where theoretically anyone can become a bail recovery agent..."^[1] In most jurisdictions, bond agents must be licensed to carry on business within the state. Some insurance companies may offer insurance coverage that includes local bail bonds for traffic related arrests.^[10]

Pricing

Bond agents generally charge a fee of ten percent for a state charge and fifteen percent for a federal bail bond, with a minimum of one hundred dollars in such states as Florida, required in order to post a bond for the full amount of the bond.^[11] This fee is not refundable and represents the bond agent's compensation for services rendered.^[12]

In some states, such as Florida, bondsmen are responsible for paying the forfeitures, and if they fail to pay the full amount, they are forbidden to write further bonds in the state.^[14]

Recovery and bounty hunting

If the defendant fails to appear in court, the bond agent is allowed by law or contractual arrangement to bring the defendant to the jurisdiction of the court in order to recover the money paid out under the bond, usually through the use of a bounty hunter. "Only the Philippines has a surety bail system similar in structure and function [as the US]."^[15]{{rp|193}} In the past, courts in Australia, India and South Africa had disciplined lawyers for professional misconduct for setting up commercial bail arrangements.^[1]

Some states, such as North Carolina, have outlawed the use or licensing of "bounty hunters"; therefore, bail bondsman must apprehend their own fugitives. Bond agents are allowed to sue indemnitors, any persons who guaranteed the defendants' appearances in court, and/or the defendants themselves for any moneys forfeited to the court for failure defendants appear.{{Clarify|date=April 2009|reason=it is unclear if this refers strictly to NC or to all or many states}}

Alternatives and controversy

Several high-profile cases involving bondsman misconduct have led to calls for increased regulation of the industry or outright abolition of the bail for profit industry.^{[22][23][24][25]} One of the most prominent cases, in Louisiana, involved bribery of judges by a bail bonding agency. A far-reaching FBI investigation code-named "Operation Wrinkled Robe" led to criminal charges and removal proceedings for various judges, such as Ronald Bodenheimer, and police officers.^[26]{{better source|date=March 2016}}

In California a landmark case governing commercial free speech was decided on November 5, 2013, which upheld the conviction of Bail Bondsman Todd Russell Dolezal^[27] after his felony arrest by the California Department of Insurance,^[28] Investigation Division, Senior Investigator Gulcher^[29] for bail solicitation. Under Dolezal v. California, the California Court of Appeals held that the narrowly tailored restriction on commercial speech prohibiting direct solicitation of bail at a jail passes constitutional muster.^[30] The California Code of Regulations strictly regulates bail activities. This ruling prompted a statewide email notice ^[31] to all California licensed bail agents regarding the ruling.

The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the practice of bail bonds as a form of injustice against low income communities and fueling mass incarceration of innocent people with the ACLU recommending automated text messages or robocalls for court appearances^[32]

In popular culture

• Stephanie Plum is a disreputable New Jersey bail bondsman who appears in a series of comic novels by Janet Evanovich.
• Emma Swan starts out as a bail bondsman in Once Upon a Time.
• Many characters in Sneaky Pete are in the bail bonds business.
• Robert Forster plays bail bondsman Max Cherry in the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown.
• Joe Pantoliano plays bail bondsman Eddie Mascone in Midnight Run.

See also

• Bail
• Surety
• Surety bond

References

Further reading

• F. E. Devine, Commercial Bail Bonding: A Comparison of Common Law Alternatives (New York: Praeger, 1991) {{ISBN|0-275-93732-1}}.

External links

• The Old Lady Moves ON - Time on McDonough Bros. bail-bond firm, which had existed for 50 years in San Francisco.{{subscription}}
• [https://www.npr.org/2010/01/21/122725771/Bail-Burden-Keeps-U-S-Jails-Stuffed-With-Inmates Bail Burden Keeps U.S. Jails Stuffed with Inmates.] NPR, 2010/01/21

• Reid Block (Victoria, British Columbia)
• Reid, Charles
• Reid, Charlie
• Reid, Christopher
• Reid & Co
• Reid Collins & Tsai
• Reid Concert Hall
• Reid, Craig
• Reid Crawford
• Reid, David
• Reid, Donald
• Reid Duke (ice hockey)
• Reid Duncan Overbeck
• Reidelbach, Maria
• Reidentification
• Re-identification
• Reide (White Elster)
• Reid Falconer
• Reid Ferguson
• Reidford
• Reid, Frank
• Reid Government
• Reid-Hillview Airport
• Reid House (Little Rock, Arkansas)
• Reid Humphreys