misspelledsearch.com:

bail bond houston

information page

If you cannot find the information you are searching for on this page, we suggest searching Google with the correct spelling "bail bond houston":

This article is about the legal term. For the part of the wicket in the sport of cricket, see bail (cricket).

Criminal procedure


Criminal investigation
Arrest warrant · Search warrant
Probable cause · Knock and announce
Exigent circumstance
Search and seizure · Arrest
Right to silence · Miranda warning (U.S.)
Grand jury
Criminal prosecution
Statute of limitations
Bill of attainder · Ex post facto law
Criminal jurisdiction
Inquisitorial system · Adversarial system
Arraignment · Indictment
Nolo contendere · Plea bargain
Rights of the accused
Right to a fair trial
Presumption of innocence
Jury trial · Speedy trial
Habeas corpus · Bail
Exclusionary rule (U.S.)
Self-incrimination · Double jeopardy
Verdict and sentencing
Acquittal · Conviction
Mandatory sentencing
Suspended sentence
Parole · Probation
Tariff (UK) · Life licence (UK)
Dangerous offender (Can.)
Cruel and unusual punishment
Capital punishment · Execution warrant
Related areas of law
Criminal defenses
Criminal law · Evidence
Civil procedure

Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail ("skipping bail", or "jumping bail", is also illegal). In most cases bail money will be returned at the end of the trial, if all court appearances are made, no matter whether the person is found guilty of the crime accused. In some countries, including the US, granting bail is common. In others, depending upon the court and the accusations, bail is not always available. Countries without bail imprison the suspect before the trial only if deemed necessary.

Legislatures also set out certain crimes to be unbailable, such as capital crimes or in some cases premeditated murder.

Under the current law of England and Wales, bail simply refers to the release of the accused before trial.

1 Forms of bail
2 Bail law in England and Wales
- 2.1 History
- 2.2 Current practice
3 Bail law in the United States
- 3.1 The Judiciary Act of 1789
- 3.2 The Bail Reform Act of 1966
- 3.3 Current bail law
- 3.4 State bail laws
4 See also

Forms of bail

The form of bail varies from jurisdiction, but the common forms of bail include:

Recognizance — a promise made by the accused to the court that said person will attend all required judicial proceedings and will not engage in further illegal activity or other prohibited conduct as set by the court. Typically a monetary amount is set by the court, but is not paid by the defendant unless it is forfeited by the court. Other forms of punishment, such as imprisonment, may still be levied by the court for those failing to appear when required.

Surety — when a third party agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of the defendant. In many jurisdictions this service is provided commercially by a bail bondsman, where the agent will receieve 10% of the bail amount up front and will keep said amount regardless if the defendant appears in court. The court in many jurisdictions, especially jurisdictions that prohibit bail bondsmen, may demand a certain amount of the total bail (typically 10%) be given to the court, which, unlike with bail bondsmen, is returned if the defendant does not violate the conditions of bail.
Cash — typically "cash only", where the defendant must provide the amount of the bail to the court.

In many jurisdictions the defendant can post bail either by cash and/or surety.

Bail law in England and Wales

History

In medieval England, the sheriffs originally possessed sovereign authority to release or hold suspected criminals. Some sheriffs would exploit the bail for their own gain. The Statute of Westminster (1275) limited the discretion of sheriffs with respect to the bail. Although sheriffs still had the authority to fix the amount of bail required, the statute stipulates which crimes are bailable and which ones are not.

In the early 17th century, King Charles I ordered noblemen to issue him loans. Those who refused were imprisoned. Five of the prisoners filed a habeas corpus petition arguing that they should not be held indefinitely without trial or bail. In the Petition of Right (1628) the Parliament argued that the King had flouted the Magna Carta by imprisoning people without just cause.

The Habeas Corpus Act (1677) states, "A Magistrate shall discharge Prisoners from their Imprisonment taking their Recognizance, with one or more Surety or Sureties, in any Sum according to the Magistrate's discretion, unless it shall appear that the Party is committed for such Matter or offenses for which by law the Prisoner is not bailable."

The English Bill of Rights (1689) states that "excessive bail hath been required of persons committed in criminal cases, to elude the benefit of the laws made for the liberty of the subjects. Excessive bail ought not to be required." This was a precursor of the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution.

Current practice

Under current law, a defendant has the right to bail unless there is sufficient reason not to grant it. The reasons for refusing bail according to the Bail Act 1976 are that there are substantial grounds for believing that the defendant (1) will abscond; (2) will commit further offences whilst on bail; or (3) will interfere with witnesses. Conditions may be applied to the grant of bail, such as living at a particular address or, rarely, pay an amount into court or have someone act as surety. Release on bail is sometimes referred to as police bail, where the release was by the police rather than by a court. The alternative to being granted bail is being remanded into custody (also called being held on remand).

Bail law in the United States

In pre-independence America, bail law was based on English law. Some of the colonies simply guaranteed their subjects the protections of British law. In 1776, after the Declaration of Independence, those which had not already done so, enacted their own versions of bail law.

Section 9 of Virginia's 1776 Constitution states "excessive bail ought not to be required..." In 1785, the following was added, "Those shall be let to bail who are apprehended for any crime not punishable in life or limb...But if a crime be punishable by life or limb, or if it be manslaughter and there be good cause to believe the party guilty thereof, he shall not be admitted to bail."

Section 29 of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 states "Excessive bail shall not be exacted for bailable offenses".

The Eighth Amendment in the US Federal Bill of Rights is derived from the Virginia Constitution, "Excessive bail shall not be required...", in regard to which Samuel Livermore commented, "The clause seems to have no meaning to it, I do not think it necessary. What is meant by the term excessive bail...?!"

The Sixth Amendment, to the Constitution, like the English Habeas Corpus Act of 1678, requires that a suspect must "be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation" and thus enabling a suspect to demand bail if accused of a bailable offence.

The Judiciary Act of 1789

In 1789, the same year that the Bill of Rights was introduced, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789. This specified which types of crimes were bailable and set bounds on a judge's discretion in setting bail. The Act states that all non-capital crimes are bailable and that in capital cases the decision to detain a suspect, prior to trial, was to be left to the judge.

The Judiciary Act states, "Upon all arrests in criminal cases, bail shall be admitted, except where punishment may be by death, in which cases it shall not be admitted but by the supreme or a circuit court, or by a justice of the supreme court, or a judge of a district court, who shall exercise their discretion therein."

The Bail Reform Act of 1966

In 1966, Congress enacted the Bail Reform Act of 1966 which states that a non-capital defendant is to be released, pending trial, on his personal recognizance or on personal bond, unless the judicial officer determines that such incentives will not adequately assure his appearance at trial. In that case, the judge must select an alternative from a list of conditions, such as restrictions on travel. Individuals charged with a capital crime, or who have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing or appeal, are to be released unless the judicial officer has reason to believe that no conditions will reasonably assure that the person will not flee or pose a danger. In non-capital cases, the Act does not permit a judge to consider a suspect's danger to the community, only in capital cases or after conviction is the judge authorized to do so.

The 1966 Act was particularly criticized within the District of Columbia, where all crimes formerly fell under Federal bail law. In a number of instances, persons accused of violent crimes committed additional crimes when released on their personal recognizance. These individuals were often released yet again.

The Judicial Council committee recommended that, even in non-capital cases, a person's dangerousness should be considered in determining conditions for release. The District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 allowed judges to consider dangerousness and risk of flight when setting bail in noncapital cases.

Current bail law

In 1984 Congress replaced the Bail Reform Act of 1966 with new bail law, codified at United States Code, Title 18, Sections 3141-3150.

State bail laws

Bail laws vary somewhat from state to state, as is typical of U.S. jurisprudence. Generally, a person charged with a non-capital crime is presumptively entitled to be granted bail. Recently, some states have enacted statutes modelled on federal law which permit pretrial detention of persons charged with serious violent offenses, if it can be demonstrated that the defendant is a flight risk or a danger to the community.