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1
Applicable Statutes.
A.
CODE
OF
B.
CODE
OF
C.
CODE
OF
2. Licensing
Requirements for Agents.
- CODE OF
·
persons who hold themselves out as signers or sureties of bonds for
compensation are declared to be professional bondsmen.
·
one
who holds himself or herself out as a signer or surety of bonds for
compensation who must meet the following qualifications:
(1) Is 18 years of
age or over;
(2) Is a resident of
the State of
(3) Is a person of
good moral character and has not been convicted of a felony or any crime
involving moral turpitude; and
(4) Is approved by
the sheriff and remains in good standing with respect to all applicable
federal, state, and local laws and all rules and regulations established by the
sheriff in the county where the bonding business is conducted.
- CODE OF
·
the
term "bail recovery agent" means any person who performs services or
takes action for the purpose of:
·
apprehending
the principal on a bail bond granted in this state or,
·
capturing a fugitive who has escaped from bail in this state for
gratuity, benefit, or compensation.
·
Any
sheriff of a county shall require any professional bondsman who is a resident
of or doing business in the sheriff's county to register his or her bail
recovery agents in that county.
·
A
bail recovery agent must be a
·
CODE
OF
(1) Any person under 21
years of age;
(2) Any person who is a
fugitive from justice or against whom proceedings are pending for any felony, forcible
misdemeanor, or violation of Code Section 16-11-126, 16-11-127, or
16-11-128 until such time as the proceedings are adjudicated;
(3) Any person who has been
convicted of a felony by a court of this state or any other state; by a court
of the United States including its territories, possessions, and dominions; or
by a court of any foreign nation and has not been pardoned for such felony.
(4) Any individual who has
been hospitalized as an inpatient in any mental hospital or alcohol or drug
treatment center within five years of the date of his application; or
(5) (A) Any person, the
provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection notwithstanding, who has been
convicted of an offense arising out of the unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession,
or use of a controlled substance or other dangerous drug.
3. Notice of
Forfeiture
- CODE OF
·
A bond forfeiture occurs at the end of the court day, upon the
failure of a principal to appear, of any bond given for the appearance of that
person.
·
An
appearance bond shall not be forfeited unless the clerk of the court gave the
surety at least 72 hours' written notice, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and
legal holidays, before the time of the required appearance of the principal.
Notice shall not be necessary if the time for appearance is within 72 hours
from the time of arrest, provided the time for appearance is stated on the
bond, or where the principal is given actual notice in open court.
4. Allotted Time
between Forfeiture Declaration and Payment Due Date.
(See above, second
paragraph)
5. Forfeiture Defenses.
- CODE OF
- it is shown by the written
statement of a licensed physician that the principal on the bond was
prevented from attending by some mental or physical disability.
·
it
is shown that the principal on the bond was prevented from attending because he
or she was detained by reason of arrest, sentence, or confinement in a penal
institution or jail in the State of Georgia, or so detained in another
jurisdiction,
·
or
because he or she was involuntarily confined or detained pursuant to court
order in a mental institution in the State of Georgia or in another
jurisdiction. (An official written notice of the holding institution in which
the principal is being detained or confined shall be considered proof of the
principal's detention or confinement and such notice may be sent from the
holding institution by mail or delivered by hand or by facsimile machine).
·
if it is shown that prior to the entry of the judgment on the forfeiture
the principal on the bond is in the custody of the sheriff or other responsible
law enforcement agency.
·
(An
official written notice of the holding institution in which the principal is
being detained or confined shall be considered proof of the principal's
detention or confinement and such notice may be sent from the holding
institution by mail or delivered by hand or by facsimile machine).
- State v. Hightower, 199
6. Remission.
- CODE OF
- In cases in where paragraph 3 (above, under #5)
are not applicable, and upon application filed within 120 days from the
payment of judgment, the court shall order remission under the following
conditions:
·
Provided
the bond amount has been paid within 120 days after judgment and the delay has
not prevented prosecution of the principal and upon application to the court
with prior notice to the prosecuting attorney of such application, said court
shall direct remission of 95 percent of the bond amount remitted to the surety
if:
- the surety locates the
principal in the custody of the sheriff in the jurisdiction where the
bond was made or in another jurisdiction causing the return of the
principal to the jurisdiction where the bond was made,
·
apprehends,
surrenders, or produces the principal, if the apprehension or surrender of the
principal was substantially procured or caused by the surety, or,
·
if the location of the principal by the surety caused the adjudication of
the principal in the jurisdiction in which the bond was made.
·
If
any of the above occurs within two years of the principal's failure to appear,
the surety shall be entitled to a refund of 50 percent of the bond amount. The
application for 50 percent remission shall be filed no later than 30 days
following the expiration of the two-year period following the date of judgment.
·
Remission
shall be granted upon condition of the payment of court costs and of the
expenses of returning the principal to the jurisdiction by the surety; or
- if, within 120 days after
judgment, the surety surrenders the principal to the sheriff or
responsible law enforcement officer, or said surrender has been denied by
the sheriff or responsible law enforcement officer, or surety locates the
principal in custody in another jurisdiction, the surety shall only be
required to pay costs and 5 percent of the face amount of the bond, which
amount includes all surcharges.
B.
1976
Op. Att'y Gen. No.
U76-28. No
refund where principal surrendered after forfeiture. -- This section provides
for the relief of a bondsman from liability prior to the time that he pays the
forfeiture to the county. After payment to the county of a final judgment on an appearance bond forfeiture, the bondsman is not entitled
to a refund of the forfeiture even though he later surrenders the principal to
county authorities.
C.
Timing
requirements for filing are the same as those under #5(B) above.
7. Bail Agent’s
Arrest Authority.
A.
A Bail
Agent’s arrest authority is implied in -- CODE OF GEORGIA TITLE 17. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 6. BONDS AND RECOGNIZANCES ARTICLE 2. SURETIES PART 2. PROFESSIONAL
BONDSMEN
- In addition, a 1970 Georgia Attorney General
Opinion provides the following:
- Bondsman's powers of arrest. -- If the accused
refuses to surrender, the bondsman can seize and hold him in order to make
delivery. The bondsman's rights include broad powers of pursuit into
another state, arrest, and detention. No process is needed, as the
bondsman's powers arise, not from the powers of the state, but from the
relationship of principal and bondsman (1970 Op. Att'y
Gen. No. U70-78).
- Finally, another 1970 Georgia Attorney General
Opinion (1970 Op. Att'y Gen. No.U70-83)
distinguishes that a bail agent has right to arrest on an appearance
warrant, but may not make an arrest pursuant to a bench warrant.
8. Other
Noteworthy Provisions.
- A. CODE OF
- In lieu of the unearned premium reserve required on
surety insurance under subsection (a) of Code Section 33-10-6, the
Commissioner may require any surety insurer or limited surety insurer to
set up and maintain a reserve on all bail bonds or other single premium bonds
without definite expiration data, furnished in judicial proceedings, equal
to 25 percent of the total consideration charged for any bonds as are
outstanding as of the date of any current financial statement of the
insurer.
- CODE OF
(j) For all persons who
have been authorized by law or the court to be released on bail, sheriffs and
constables shall accept such bail; provided, however, that the sureties
tendered and offered on the bond are approved by the sheriff of the county in
which the offense was committed.
- CODE OF
·
17-6-52
Establishes that professional bondsmen, their agents, or employees shall not
solicit business as bondsmen or loiter about or around jails, places where
prisoners are confined, or the courts for the purpose of engaging in or
soliciting business as such bondsmen.
·
In
addition, no state or municipal law enforcement officer or keeper or employee
of a penal institution may suggest or give advice to any prisoner regarding the
services of a professional bondsman to write a criminal bond for the appearance
of a prisoner in any court at any time.
·
17-6-57
Provides extensive notification and registration provisions for out-of-state Bail
Recovery Agents with local law enforcement.
·
17-6-58
Sets forth the penalties for violation of the above
section, both for bail recovery agents individually, and for bond companies who
employ them.
·
Further
more, subsection (c) establishes that no bail recovery agent shall wear, carry,
or display any uniform, badge, shield, card, or other item with any printing,
insignia, or emblem that purports to indicate that such bail recovery agent is
an employee, officer, or agent of any state or federal government or any
political subdivision of any state or federal government. A violation of this
subsection shall be punished upon conviction as a felony punishable by
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, or a fine of not
more than $10,000.00, or both.
- And, subsection (d) provides that a bail
recovery agent who enters the wrong property,
causes damage to said property, or causes injury to anyone thereon is
liable for all damages.
- CODE OF
·
Sureties
on criminal bonds in any court shall not charge or receive more than 12 percent
of the principal amount of bonds set in the amount of $10,000.00 or less and
shall not charge or receive more than 15 percent of the principal amount of bonds
set in an amount in excess of $10,000.00 as compensation from defendants or
from anyone acting for defendants.
·
Any
person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
9. Noteworthy
State Appellate Decisions.
- AMERICAN DRUGGISTS' INSURANCE COMPANY v. HARRIS.No.
71354. Court
of Appeals of
·
Ronald
Epperson was arrested in May 1983 and indicted on charges of trafficking in
cocaine. In June 1983 Epperson as principal and appellant American Druggists'
Insurance Co. as surety executed an appearance bond for $225,000. Epperson
failed to appear when his trial was called. The following March 23 a judgment
was entered against the surety and Epperson as principal, forfeiting the bond.
Epperson was subsequently arrested in
·
The
court holds that after a Final Judgment has been entered against the surety in
a Bond Forfeiture Hearing and the Judgment has been satisfied by the payment of
funds, the surety has no standing either in law or equity to reclaim any
portion of the funds paid over to satisfy the Judgment.
BENNETT
v. The STATE.No.
66443.
Court of Appeals
·
Bennett
was a bail recovery agent for a bondsman and was asked to apprehend Charles
Brannon after Brannon failed to appear for trial on several traffic offenses.
In effecting Brannon's apprehension, appellant went to the Brannon home where
he fired a shot in the backyard, kicked in the front door when Brannon ran
inside, and beat Brannon on the head and face with a pistol.
·
Bennett
contended the trial court erred by charging the jury that if a bondsman or his
agent uses deadly force in seizing an arrestee, "then, such constitutes an
illegal arrest, or illegal seizure." Bennett argues that a bondsman or his
agent who apprehends a principal on the bond is not making an arrest and thus,
if he uses unreasonable force it does not constitute an "illegal
arrest" or an "illegal seizure."
·
The
court disagrees. The court notes that
·
As
to the amount of force a bail bondsman or his agent may use in arresting his
principal, the court finds no state or federal cases dealing with this specific
issue and, therefore, looks to the rules relating to arrest by law enforcement
officers since a bail bondsman, should have no greater right to the use of
force than a law enforcement officer can use in making an arrest.
- A law enforcement officer can use no more force
than is reasonably necessary under the circumstances, and cannot use
violence disproportionate to the resistance offered. In the instant case
Brannon was being arrested for failure to appear on a DUI charge, a
misdemeanor (§OCGA 40-6-391(c) (Code Ann. § 68A-902)), and was not
resisting arrest at the time Bennett started beating Brannon on the head
and face with a pistol with such force that the pistol discharged. Since
Bennett was not entitled to use deadly force in effecting Brannon's arrest
(appellant had announced he would take Brannon in, dead or alive), but could
only use such force as was reasonably necessary under the circumstances,
the trial court's charge of using deadly force was correct.
- Other Noteworthy Decisions:
·
Lack
of notice to surety. -- Where the record shows on its face noncompliance with
statutory service and notice requirements, the proceedings and resultant
judgment must be set aside. Osborne Bonding Co. v. State, 163
·
Forfeiture
judgment not set aside upon surrender of principal and payment of costs. --
Section 17-6-31 and this section, while making it mandatory upon the court,
after rendering final judgment of forfeiture of a criminal bond, to relieve the
surety from liability thereunder upon his
surrendering the principal into court and paying all costs, do not authorize in
such a case the setting aside of such final judgment, and motion praying only
that such judgment be set aside because the principal had been surrendered into
court and costs paid, is properly dismissed on demurrer. Fields v. Arnall, 199
·
Where
the surety gives assistance to police officials which
contributes to the arrest of the fugitive defendant and initiates action to
surrender the defendant to the superior court, the surety should be relieved of
the penalty on forfeiture of the bond. Troup Bonding Co. v. State, 121
·
Intent
to surrender principal must be expressed and understood. -- Producing or presenting
a principal in court is not all that is required to discharge the obligation
and relieve securities from their liability under a criminal bond. In order for
a surrender of the principal in open court to be effective, the attention of
the court must be called to the presence of the defendant principal, and the
intention to surrender him must be definitely expressed and understood. Perkins
v. Terrell, 1
- Bail may arrest or recapture his principal.
Garner v. Mears, 97
10. Bounty Hunter
Provisions.
Bounty Hunters are termed
"Bail Recovery Agents" in