Colorado Bail Agents Respond to News Story About Exonerations

A story by 9News in Denver has thrust the state’s bail industry into a glaringly bright spotlight and could lead to legal reforms. The story revolves around a 9Wants to Know investigation where an anonymous paralegal who works for bail agents told reporters that he “has filed more than 500 exoneration motions in courts over the last two years, saving the bail agents $400,000 in forfeiture fees.” The paralegal compared his activities to a game where he tries to beat the court by bending the rules. Also in the story, 9News claims... Read more

Post-Conviction Bonds a Promising Solution to Prison Overcrowding

Prison overcrowding has become an ever-evolving dilemma for many states, where each new solution creates a new assortment of problems. The end result has been prisons operating grossly over capacity, such as in California, where the state’s 33 prisons were designed to hold 84,000 inmates but are packed with 158,000. States are being forced to release prisoners early and turn away new inmates, which is giving criminals the opportunity to become repeat offenders without much consequence. With current solutions proving largely ineffective, bail... Read more

PBUS “All Hands on Deck!” Alert

PBUS President Linda Braswell has announced the creation of the PBUS J.A.I.L. Summit, co-chaired by Armando Roche and Debbie Jallad, as a response to the NACo-PJI initiative to evaluate all county jails and, in essence, recommend pre-trial services at each of them (click here to read the NACo-PJI recommendations for Mecklenburg County, NC). The Summit will take place at the beginning of September in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas area. Industry leaders will be invited to take part in this summit and distinguish how to engage PBUS members, bail agents,... Read more

AR County Requiring Sheriff’s Bonds for Felony Cases

Saline County, Arkansas is in the middle of a federal lawsuit with local bail bondsmen after Saline County judges signed a court order earlier this year outlawing payment plans on bail premiums. In addition, felony case bonds are often recommended for a sheriff’s bond, where 10% of the bail amount is paid to the sheriff’s office. The county argues that sheriff’s bonds are better for everyone involved because the defendant gets a percentage of the 10% back at the end of the trial. The Arkansas constitution requires bail bondsmen... Read more

NC Halfway to Requiring Bail Agents to Have HS Diploma

The North Carolina Senate has just passed Senate Bill S458 which requires a person applying to be a licensed bail agent have a high school degree or GED equivalent.  In addition, a person with a misdemeanor drug violation within the past 24 months will be denied a license. After passing the Senate, the bill was introduced to the North Carolina House of Representatives.  It is currently sitting in the Committee on Commerce, Small Business, and Entrepreneurship. Read the full text of the bill here.  Read More →

Private Surety Bail: Advocacy and Legislative Initiatives

Our country is facing an unprecedented economic crisis that may take years to recover from.  State and local governments are faced with drastically cutting budgets and raising fees for services while passing the costs on to already financially-strapped citizens.  On top of the financial crisis, states across the country are facing a growing crime rate which has become exacerbated by taxpayer-funded pretrial release programs that routinely release violent and repeat offenders back into our communities. According to a nationwide study conducted... Read more

MS Bail Bonds to Help Women’s Shelters

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has recently signed into law a bill that uses the bail industry to help domestic violence victims and women’s shelters. The new law assesses an additional $10 fee to the already existing $20 fee or 2% of the bail bond, whichever is higher.  This fee will help battered women and children across the state of Mississippi by contributing to the funding of shelters, crisis lines, counseling and educational programs to prevent domestic violence. Representative Brandon Jones of Pascagoula, Mississippi authored... Read more

CT Legislation Update: 10 Percent Cash Bail

Senator John Kissel of Connecticut’s 7th District has introduced Senate Bill 723, An Act Concerning The Posting of Ten Per Cent Cash Bail.  The purpose of the bill is: To authorize an accused person or a person in his or her behalf, other than a bail bondsman, to post ten per cent of the amount called for by a surety bond to secure such person’s release. It most recently has been referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary. For updates on this bill that would allow defendants to post 10 percent cash bail without a bail bondsmen, click... Read more

Help Pass the Bail Bond Fairness Act

Stephen Kreimer, the Executive Director of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States, has sent out the following information regarding the Bail Bond Fairness Act that PBUS is currently trying to pass into law. — The elections are over and now the Members of the 110th Congress are making plans to return to Washington, DC one last time before they adjourn sine die; thereby ending this, the Second and final Session of the 110th Congress. A significant number of bills have yet to be considered, including S.2495, the Bail Bond Fairness... Read more

What You Should Know About Pretrial Release Programs

According to The New York Times, the United States and the Philippines are the only two countries in the world with a dominant commercial bail system. In the past 40 years, the commercial bail system has come under intense scrutiny, as critics claim pretrial release should not be based on a defendant’s ability to pay a bail agent. The rise in anti-commercial bail sentiment has been accompanied by a wave of bail reform law, most commonly in the form of pretrial release programs run by the courts.  Pretrial release programs have also been... Read more