Historic Bail Reform in New York Only Partial Fix

The effort to try to fix New York’s disastrous bail reform bill concluded in Albany, NY, at 2:19 am eastern time on Friday morning April 3, 2020. For the first time in 400 years, and while returning discretion to judges to set monetary bail In appropriate cases, the expansion of preventative detention is the real news.But, unfortunately for the first… Continue reading

Why ending secure bonds is terribly wrong – an example from Cullman, AL

Any logical and intelligent analysis would predict that if the justice system reduced or eliminated secured bail bonds, failure to appear (FTA) rates would rise. The rise in FTAs result in an increase in disrespect for the law, disrespect for the courts, increased crime and further frustration of law enforcement officers. Here is real life evidence of that from ABC… Continue reading

NJ Bail Reform fails twice on the same crime

The purpose of secured bail is two-fold… Help an accused criminal get back to his/her work, family and life while providing a strong incentive for the criminal to work responsibly with the justice system that works to protect the public. While the outcome of  the trial is determined by the “innocent until proven guilty” principle, the accused are initially arrested… Continue reading

Frustrating Lessons for bondsmen from murder-suicide felon freed for $1000

Bondsmen: “Damned if you do…Damned if you don’t…” Below are excerpts from the article, “Serial felon at center of murder-suicide was freed for $1,000” posted on 20 Aug 2015 with this author’s comments: A local felon with a lengthy rap sheet was released from custody after paying just $1,000 to a bail bonds company for a $100,000 bond less than a… Continue reading

Bail Bondsman get 15 years for a mistake?

This looks like a really good reason for bondsmen to be VERY careful to verify all addresses, particularly when pursuing a skip. 15 years seem excessive s as Robert Stomps, 41, had “no prior felony convictions” and no one was hurt in the incident. Part of the reason was that he refused a pleas deal. Here are key excepts from the article… Continue reading

Why do bondsmen have great “leeway?”

In the article and video below, the author, Theodore Decker, failed to make one important point that would help people realize why “Agents are given great leeway in tracking and arresting defendants for whom they post bond…” See my comments below in [bold]… Bail bondsmen who nabbed man may face charges Police have identified the two Columbus bail bondsmen who snatched a… Continue reading

Should Bail Bondsmen Carry Firearms?

Police departments around the country continue to make news each time an officer subdues a suspect in the line of duty. The controversy seems reinvigorated after each incident. The general public questions whether police are too quick to pull their trigger, arguing they are trained professionals who should give the suspect more time or shoot to wound. If the law… Continue reading

Bizarre Las Vegas Bail Bonds Stories

Different criminal dramas and bizarre bail bonds stories have been identified with Las Vegas. Even though the city is popularly called “Sin City,” most of the headlines there are hard to believe. Stories like the arrest of a bondsman in connection with an attempted murder plot, an online gambling tycoon, and a doctor accused of masturbating in a casino all… Continue reading

Do bail bondsmen have to be cutthroat?

Do you have to be cutthroat to be a successful bail bondsman? While the bail bonds industry does not have the most respected reputation, most of the bail bondsmen that I know are good decent businessmen. I liked the article from Mark Ford, editor of Creating Wealth so much, I thought I would post some of the best excepts from it here.… Continue reading

Botched bond mistakenly lets accused cocaine dealer back on the streets

This video talks about how an officer mistakenly lopped off a zero when entering the bond about (and one other important term). I once had the same mistake made at the Riverside Regional Jail in Virginia – except in my case, the mistake was much smaller, from $15,000 to $1,500. We got it corrected though before posting the bond. Here’s… Continue reading