Keep Bailing

Wonder what happens when a defendant is late for court?

When you bail someone out of jail, you take responsibility to make sure they show up for their court appearance. We tell people all the time, courts understand small mistakes like traffic, illness or trouble finding the courtroom. However, that doesn’t mean judges like it.

Such may have been the case in San Bernardino Superior Court this week where the judge issued arrest warrants and set bail at $200,000 for two defendants who weren’t present in his court when he call their case at 8:36 am. They were due in court at 8:30. The defendants were brothers accused of attempting to bribe the staff member of a San Bernardino Supervisor.

The men showed up in court 20 minutes late. Their attorney indicated the two were in the wrong courtroom. The judged agreed to lower the bail back to $100,000 if the bail bondsman would ”re-assume” the bond. While the men waited briefly in the court’s jail, the attorney contacted the bondsman who provided the proper Reassumption of Liability for the bail bond.

This is common in the bail bond business: a simple mistake puts the bond in jeopardy and judge rules that the defendants have failed to appear in court. In such cases, when the defendant contacts the bondsman, bondsmen will usually continue the bail bond.