Bond Exonoration

Exactly. In this case, hes in a state that does not allow our industry to apprehend them and bring them back to face the charge. I can prove where he is. I can show where the law hinders us. I am going to show what other states do and see what happens. I should say my attorney is showing the judge all this.

By the way, I have had alot of trouble with a few of these states over the years and the laws are getting worse, as we all know. I had a "team" meeting and handed out guidelines to everyone recently making them aware of what will happen if clients skip to these states. I hope it helps. Im not too worried about felonies, we can get them arrested and extraited. Misdemeanors are not worth writing on alot of out of staters. Sad its that way, but it is.

We shall se in our company anyway. I hope they listen, but when the greens being flashed in their faces, I have learned that what they say they will do and what they do are different.....

Thanks again for the help.

Andy

Tsuggs, we were typing at the same time. LOL

Is there something in that website about MO? I wasnt aware. Many thanks.

Andy

I will call my surety rerp tomorrow. We usually get quarterly updates of recent State rulings on bail. They should have some case law from MO that would apply to your case.

I thought the guy providing it was part of Amercian Bail Coalition. Now I think it was a different group of bail advocates.

I get a qtrly update from the AIA - I am trying to find the last one so that I can tell you where they located . . . just recently got one in regards to bankruptcy - even if the bondee files BK the Bail Company can still hold the indemnitor responsible. Tony, the last news letter that I received from the ABC (Washington, DC) was last February.

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Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

I get the ones from AIA. I havent seen one pertaining to this. But, I could have missed one too?

The guy that provides the case info to AIA, ASC and other sureties is Ed Gallagher(?). He's with a surerty industry group. If you get a hold of him, I'm sure that he would be able to point you to a couple of case law rulings in MO.

Brian Nairin at AIA probably has his number or contact info.

Thanks

I've been out of town for almost a week, so forgive my delayed response.

I have found that you have to learn how your local judges think and rule on cases. If you can work within their rulings, fine. If not, you may have to take it to a higher court, if you can prove up your case based on your state's statutes and case law. It always helps if you can build a relationship with them since they seem to rule more favorably for those who do. This isn't always possible, so do what you have to do to win your case. Higher courts may or may not follow other jurisdiction rulings, so research and know what you can rely on.

I have known of cases where the court refused to exonerate, even when the bondsman or their agent was refused custody of the defendant by local LE, regardless of their state's laws. This happened recently in TN. My GA had a defendant who had gone to his parent's home there. She hired local agents, then sent her BEA's after him, and the local LE ordered all of them to leave, even though there are no state laws that refuse us or local BEA's or bond agents access. She got a copy of the PD report saying that LE refused them access to the residence and the defendant, and her local court still would not accept it. She did get an extension, and the local agents finally made the apprehension and transported the defendant back here before she had to pay the forfeiture.

One ruling that could be very important to many of us is regarding Mexican Nationals. Our Supreme Court ruled that if we post bond for one of these, we have no recourse on paying a forfeiture if they skip on their bond by running back home. The reasoning is that while they may be in our country legally, they are not a citizen, and if they go back to Mexico, we should know that we cannot bring them back to face the charges here. There have been instances where there were equivalent charges in Mexico and the person was apprehended and charged, tried, and convicted there for the charges here. I haven't read any specific case laws regarding bonds, only that the courts here were satisfied that justice was served. It isn't a chance that I am willing to take unless I have the proper collateral located on U.S. soil. Some think that they can take property in Mexico as collateral, but only Mexican citizens are allowed to own property there. I know this from other sources, but it applies to all of us.

Because of the various state laws, I always ask where a person is from, and where their family is located prior to writing a bond. If it is a state where we have known issues, I am very skeptical about writing them. If it is a "no hunt" state, or one where we have difficulties in hunting or securing collateral, they have to have local collateral for me to bond them. That is simply good business, and something that any bail agent needs to research before writing a bond.

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Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

Kathy, this judge and prosecutor are hopeless. Its to the point that you cannot even approach the bench to talk to the judge or talk to the prosecutor yourself. They will not speak to anyone but an attorney.

Pompass assholes to the first degree.

Thats why I am choosing this case to test the limits.

Andy, in addition to being a bail bond agent/BEA, I have been a certified legal assistant at a law office for 30 years. I have researched this issue on another occasion; and Missouri does not have any provisions regarding your situation whatsoever. If you had a Judge you could work with, he might request an Attorney General's opinion; however, it doesn't sound like this will work for you.

Have you contacted the Missouri Professional Bail Bonding Association? They work with the State in writing proposed changes to the law. If you don't have it, the link to their website is: http://www.mpbba.com/

Also, our local Senator, Kevin Engler, has drafted a proposed Bill making changes to the bail bond regulations; and this might be a great time to bring this to his attention. The proposed bill is at: http://www.senate.mo.gov/07info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=228

Let me know what happens---we have had this scenario before, too!

Rhonda

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Rhonda L. Barnett, Agent
Barnett Bail Bonds & Mid-MO Fugitive Recovery, LLC
P.O. Box 295
Park Hills, Missouri
573-631-9086; FAX: 573-431-3997