In a rage of unknown beginnings, Nikolai Bonds, son of Barry the ’home run king’ Bonds decided to throw a temper tantrum, along with a metal doorknob at his own mother, Sun Bonds. According to the Mercury News, the incident happened during an argument at her home in Menlo Park.

Reportedly, Nikolai spit in his mothers face and followed up by destroying $400 worth of property, which included vases and picture frames. To top it off, he blocked the door so she couldn’t escape.

Bonds was arrested by the Menlo Park Police Department and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, assault and battery, false imprisonment, vandalism and resisting a peace officer. Assistant District Attorney, Karen Guidotti stated prosecutors have held off from filing criminal charges until police can finish work on the case.

Bonds posted a $50,000 bail bond the same night of his arrest and was released. But he’s not out of hot water yet. Menlo Park police are gathering additional information and expect to re-submit the case to San Mateo County prosecutors by the end of the week.

The young Bonds had an earlier warrant out of San Luis Obispo for being a minor in possession of alcohol. He failed to return to court on that issue so the judge ordered a $1,000 warrant for his arrest.  Now, both cases in both counties could be prosecuted simultaneously.

If for some unfortunate circumstance you are jailed in California and want to bail yourself out, you’ll need to pay 10% of whatever the bail amount is. For example, if your bail is set by the judge at $10,000, you’ll need to come up with $1,000 to pay a bail agent.  Even in this strapped economy, there are a lot of families who can get together and come up with that kind of money. Pretty basic, right?

As a caveat, if your bail amount was set  at $30 million dollars (as in the case of  one, Mr. Phillip Garrido), you would need to pay your friendly bail agent 10%, well… $3 million dollars.  Let’s just say that like the rest of America,  the Placerville  judge wasn’t taking too kindly to Mr. Garrido when he showed up for his day in court. Seems as the accused kidnapper and rapist of Jaycee Dugard, Mr. Garrido’s stiff bail amount would make it very difficult for him to get back onto the streets. A fit decision, I’d surmise. However, Garrido’s bail amount was far from being the highest ever set. And he isn’t alone when it comes to notorious people with multi-million dollar bails.

A Washington County judge set a bail at $6 million in 2006 for Steve Van Keuren, the man charged with killing his former girlfriend along with her boyfriend.

There was also the $10 million bail set in 1992 for Russell Lund, 59. The millionaire was charged with murdering his estranged wife and her boyfriend. Russell Lund committed suicide after the bail was posted.

There was an $11 million dollar bail amount set for a Brooklyn doctor who allegedly drugged and raped his female patients. When charged, he was upset that Justice Cassandra Mullen wouldn’t reduce his bail. She turned around and set it over 10 times higher.

A $20 million dollar bail amount was set for Drew Peterson. As you might remember, accused of murdering his wife in Joliet, Ill.

And the big Kahuna of all bail amounts set is $50 million for a man named Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, AKA, Clark Rockefeller.  He allegedly kidnapped his own 7-year-old daughter.  Guess he didn’t have a cool $5 million laying around, so he asked for a bail reduction, which turned around on him.  The judge dismissed his option for bail all together.

… Although, there was once a judge in San Francisco who briefly set a prostitute’s bail at $5 billion dollars. (That’s billion with a “B“) But we’ll chock that up to bail folklore for now.

In California and other states, the law states that judges cannot deny defendants the basic right to a reasonable bail. Some can eschew this law by setting bail so high, the average Joe, along with their family members for several generations couldn’t ever afford to spring them out of jail. An interesting take on the bail system to say the least.

In a previous post, I wrote about some of the longest jail terms ever given out in the United States. Believe me, after reading some of the prison terms given, I’d opt for the big bail amount. At least I’d have plenty of time to save up.

According to the Oroville Mercury-Register, a witness to the accident followed the car involved in the accident to obtain the license plate number. A 22-year-old woman was questioned by the California Highway Patrol in connection with the crash late on Thursday night. After brief questioning she was arrested and taken to the Sacramento County Jail. She is out on $30,000 bail pending arraignment.

Mr. Steiner wanted to make sure that local bondsmen knew he understood bail bond issues. He talked about extensions, exonerations and resumptions of bail. He told the group that California bail lawis very specific and procedural and that bondsmen appearing in court need to be aware of court time-lines and procedures.

Steiner went on to provide his law career background. He is running for an open seat created by the retirment of Judge Margaret Anderson, who has endorsed his candidacy.

Steiner fielded questions about Orange County bail, most pointedly about the O.R. System (release from jail on one’s Own Recognizance – in such a a case bail is foregone and the defendant is released with a promise to appear in court). He was asked his position on O.R. versus bail. Steiner indicated that there circumstances where he felt O.R. is okay. He said he did not support O.R. for defendants who were potentially dangerous to the community.

Now, awaiting appeal in that case, OJ Simpson is requesting bail. Ken Ritter of the Associated Press reports:

“Simpson recognizes that he has a heavy burden in demonstrating that his release will pose no danger to the community and that he is not a flight risk,” attorneys Yale Galanter and Malcolm LaVergne said in a follow-up document filed Monday with the state’s only appellate court. “Simpson will strictly adhere to whatever conditions this court sets for bond.”

The Nevada State Supreme Court will hold a bail hearing on August 3.

Being arrested abroad is a serious situation. Other countries don’t offer the protection that the United States offers.

The story of news correspondents catches national attention, but don’t think it can’t happen to you. Annually thousands of Americans are arrested on foreign soil. Outside of the US and the Philippines, you cannot call your local bondsman to bail you out. Some countries do offer cash bail, but many detain defendants for trial.

Ling and Lee, were arrested in North Korea and kept in jail for nearly 10 weeks awaiting trail. The two were reportedly treated harshly and kept in conditions that would be shocking and scary to most Americans. Now, they have been sentenced to 12 years of labor camp for unspecified ”hostile acts.”

If you are traveling to another country, take time to understand local laws because you will need to follow them. Assuming laws are the same or similar, or even that you can use common sense, is not enough. Many countries carry harsh penalties for drug offenses and indecency (by their standards), but in the case of the journalists it seems they were arrested simply for entering the country.  It is wise to know how to get in touch with the US Consulate in the country. However, a smart traveler realizes that the ability of the consulate to act beyond notifying family is very limited. As you plan your summer trip, maintain awareness of local laws and political situations.

We know when someone calls and starts with those questions, we probably aren’t going to write the bond. How do we know? We know because the legal bail rates in California are clear. The people we deal with for bail are concerned with our professionalism and how quickly and efficiently we can get their situation settled. They aren’t looking to do business illegally.

So why do people who need bail call with such questions? One word: “Undercutting.” This is the term used for the practice of offering illegally low rates on bail. It’s a major problem in California and particularly so in Orange County and Los Angeles County. This week the Connecticut Law Tribune, reported similar situations in that state in their article “Paying a Price for Dishonest Bail Bondsmen”

While undercutting helps bail bondsmen gain a competitive advantage, it also lets people arrested for dangerous crimes out on the street for relatively little money.

“If the public knew half of what is going on, they’d be appalled,” said Mary Anne Casey, proprietor of Casey Bail Bonds in Hartford and senior vice president of a trade group called the Professional Bail Agents of the United States. “It’s a real public safety issue that needs to be addressed.”

The article goes on to explain extreme cases where hardened criminals were returned to the streets at a discount. Clearly, that is a problem. But the problem goes beyond that. The bail system is in place because it works. Bondsmen provide additional oversight for the defendant as does the indemnitor (the person getting the defendant out). If a bondsman is acting illegally, how could anyone reasonably expect the agent to ensure the defendants return to court?

I will say that indemnitors may not realize that getting a “bargain bond” is illegal. As bail bondsmen, we need to do a beter job of making the public, politicians, courts and police chiefs aware of the safety issues involved in bail undercutting.

Photocredit: © khz- Fotolia.com

Generally speaking, a surety bond is a contract whereby one party engages to be answerable for debt, default, or miscarriage of another. A surety bond involves three parties: the principal, the obligee, and the surety. The principal, or obligor, is required to perform in some way for the benefit of the oblige, or creditor. The surety guarantees to the obligee that the principal will fulfill the underlying obligations. Simple enough, right?

Many different types of surety bonds exist. There are those that guarantee the faithful performance of public officials or fiduciaries. Some surety bonds guarantee the performance of work contracts such as for construction. Others guarantee the payment of taxes upon demand of the government. The list goes on.

Despite the wide range of situations that surety bonds address, all surety bonds are similar in terms of their distinguishing general characteristics. These characteristics are:

1. 3 legal parties
   • Obligee – for a bail bond, this is the court
   • Principal -for a bail bond, this is the defendant or the one signing for the defendant. In general, it is the one who is required to perform
   • Surety – for a bail bond, this is the one who is ultimately liable to the court: bondsman or ultimately the bail bondsman’s insurance company
2. Principal is primarily liable to the obligee.
3. The Surety theoretically expects no losses.
4. The bond is indeterminate in length and non-cancelable.
5. The bond is often required and influenced greatly by regulation or statute.
6. The bond must be in writing.
7. The liability is strictly limited to that assumed by the terms of the surety agreement or “bond’.

A bail bond is simply one type of surety bond. In the case of a bail bond, the three parties are the court (obligee), the defendant or co-signer for the defendant (principal) and the bail agent (surety). The bail bondsman is guaranteeing the faithful performance of the defendant to the court. If the defendant does not faithfully perform (go to court), then the bail bondsman is responsible to get the defendant back to court or pay the court the full bail amount.

Now you know exactly  what a bail bond is.

Last year, we had a call late in the evening on December 23rd from a woman in Arizona who wanted to arrange bail for her sister who had been arrested in San Diego and was incarcerated at the Las Colinas Women’s Jail. She wanted her sister bailed out quickly, and we understood her urgency. Getting a person out of jail as fast as possible is one of the top concerns that our clients have.

However, this client had an added complication: the woman in jail had a plane ticket for the afternoon of the 24th and plans to visit her ailing mother for Christmas. Our client wanted to arrange bail right away so that her sister could make it to the airport in time. This was a problem, because the jail system works on its own schedule.

We work hard to get our clients’ bail processed as quickly as possible, but we always need to work within the system. Our client in this case was impatient with the process. She thought the police should just go ahead and release her sister because the case was without merit.

As bondsmen, we process the paperwork and file the bond (known as “posting bail”) very quickly. From that point, it’s up to the jail. Unfortunately for our clients, jail isn’t a hotel where you call down for a bellman and sign for your charges as you walk out the front door. If it’s a small jail and they aren’t busy (it’s not lunch time, not change of shift and they aren’t dealing with another arrestee), a defendant may be out in minutes. However, larger busier jails take hours to release an inmate. Las Colinas serves as the women’s jail for all of San Diego County and as such is quite busy.

The sister in Arizona called many times that day and went through a range of emotions from hope to anger to disappointment and likely other emotions she didn’t share with me. We expect this from clients. Needing a bail bond can be a very emotional process – add to that the emotion of the season.

This was an extreme example, but many clients have anxieties about the bail bond process. After all, most people have never had any contact with the criminal justice system. They don’t really understand the arrest and booking process or have any idea how long it takes to bail someone out of jail.

We always carefully explain how the bail bond process works so that our clients know what’s happening at all times. But it’s important to understand that courts and jails work on their own timetable. They don’t care that someone thinks the charges are bogus or that it’s Christmas, or that someone has a plane to catch. Fortunately, the woman got out of jail on the 24th, but unfortunately, not in time to make her plane to Arizona.

Photocredit: © Jeffrey Collingwood – Fotolia.com

It also changed how the country – and especially Southern California law enforcement – deals with the crime of domestic violence. Since then, domestic violence cases are taken much more seriously by the police and court system. 

Before OJ, a routine domestic violence (“DV”) call to the police usually didn’t result in an arrest. Assume a couple was arguing, neighbors called the police (possibly out of safety concern, but likely because they were tired of listening). Police arrived, maybe there were some tears but both parties in the dispute said, “no problem here, officer.” The police were on their way to more “serious” crimes. Today, the same situation will almost certainly end with the police arresting someone and taking him or her downtown for booking.

Not only have the number of arrests on domestic violence risen drastically, DV bail amounts have skyrocketed. Before the rocky relationship of OJ and Nicole came into the glaring spotlight, basic domestic violence bail in Southern California ranged from $1,000 to $5,000. Now, a basic Ventura domestic violence bail is $20,000 and in Los Angeles and Orange Counties domestic violence bail is $50,000.

The good thing about this is that the police are defusing more potentially dangerous situations. A spouse is more likely to be arrested and certainly has to pay more for a bail bond, but in our experience as bondsmen, a first offense is treated relatively lightly. Routinely, first-time domestic violence offenders are sent to anger management classes and placed on probation.

In LA County, some may consider that an expensive lesson in how to control your temper. My guess is that the Browns wouldn’t think so.

For most offenders, the arrest and class is a big wake-up call that their anger response is potentially out of control. If that keeps families peaceful and intact, I think it’s a public service – and a bargain.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Celebrate it with a happy, peaceful family, please.