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Bail And Bail Bond Regulation

Summaries

KP-0030
Ken Paxton

County attorney with criminal jurisdiction may, pursuant to section 41.005, Government Code, retain a commission on bond forfeiture collection

KP-0132
Ken Paxton

Reserve deputy sheriff may act as a surety on a bail bond in county governed by chapter 17, Code of Criminal Procedure, provided the surety and bond otherwise satisfy statutory requirements|Sheriff has authority to accept bail bond listing reserve deputy sheriff as a surety in county governed by Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 17 provided the surety and bond otherwise satisfy statutory requirements

GA-0002
Greg Abbott

Financial capacity to issue bonds, bail bond executed in county where bondsman is licensed to secure release of person held on out-of-county warrant is included in calculation of

GA-0011
Greg Abbott

Security deposited by licensed bondsman to secure bail bonds, county bail bond board is authorized to adopt rule providing for release but rule may not permit bondsman to reduce security to an amount less than that required by Occupations Code section 17

GA-0048
Greg Abbott

Magistrate may not attach financial condition to personal bond or authorize deposit of less than full amount of bond in cash

GA-0058
Greg Abbott

Security deposit requirements for sureties licensed after September 1, 1999, noncorporate bail bond surety in county in which bail bond board created after 1999 was not licensed prior to board's creation and must comply with

GA-0074
Greg Abbott

El Paso County Bail Bond Board without authority to employ private counsel for legal advice without consent of El Paso county attorney

GA-0089
Greg Abbott

Court and jail personnel may not recommend any bail bond surety to another person|Bail bond surety may not recommend any attorney or law firm to a person|Particular|A

GA-0135
Greg Abbott

Corporate surety, Insurance Code governs use of assumed name|Assumed name, in county with a bail bond board, a corporate surety may not use more than one assumed name, but may operate through various individual agents, each using a different assumed name|Assumed name, in county with a bail bond board, individual who acts as a bail bond surety or as an agent for a corporate surety may operate under an assumed name, but may not use more than one assumed name

GA-0165
Greg Abbott

Corporate bail bond sureties must apply for separate licenses and deposit separate security for each agent in a county|County clerk may not refuse to accept for filing an instrument concerning real property, including an affidavit of adverse possession, if the affidavit meets the recording requirements of Property Code section 12.001(a)

GA-0197
Greg Abbott

Attorneys, authority of county bail bond board to disqualify an attorney from executing bail bonds under the provision exempting attorneys from general licensing requirement for bail bond sureties|Bail bonds, authority of county bail bond board to disqualify an attorney from executing bail bonds under the provision exempting attorneys from general licensing requirement for bail bond sureties

GA-0207
Greg Abbott

Felony prosecutor supplement fund funded by fees collected by magistrates taking bail bonds, surety's entitlement to a refund|Felony prosecutor supplement fund funded by fees collected by magistrates taking bail bonds, whether refunds paid by county may be deducted from amounts county remits to comptroller|Felony prosecutor supplement fund funded by fees collected by magistrates taking bail bonds, whether surety should apply to county or state for refund and whether surety is entitled to interest|Fee imposed on bail bond sureties for prosecutor longevity pay and indigent defense, surety's entitlement to a refund; whether refunds paid by county may be deducted from amounts county remits to comptroller|Fee imposed on bail bond sureties for prosecutor longevity pay and indigent defense, surety's entitlement to a refund|Fee imposed on bail bond sureties for prosecutor longevity pay and indigent defense, surety's entitlement to a refund as of date prosecutor declines to prosecute or grand jury declines to indict

GA-0288
Greg Abbott

Bail bond requisites, authority of a sheriff in a county without a bail bond board to require a surety to personally sign a bond and to prohibit an attorney-in-fact from signing a bond on the surety's behalf|Bail bond enforcement, in the bail bond forfeiture context a court may hold an individual surety liable on bond even though the surety did not personally sign it|Agents or attorneys-in-fact, authority of a sheriff in a county without a bail bond board to require a surety to personally sign a bond and to prohibit an attorney-in-fact from signing a bond on the surety's behalf|Enforcement of a bond, in the bail bond forfeiture context a court may hold an individual surety liable on bond even though the surety did not personally sign it

GA-0299
Greg Abbott

Bail bond surety who is convicted of soliciting clients inside detention facility has not committed crime of "moral turpitude"|Moral turpitude, bail bond surety who is convicted of soliciting clients inside detention facility has not committed crime of "moral turpitude"|Moral turpitude

GA-0344
Greg Abbott

Security ratio limiting amount of bonds a license holder may execute, a bail bond board may not consider an individual bail bond surety's former license or a license from another county in determining the applicable bail bond limit|Expiration of licenses and license renewal, the number of years a license holder held a former license may not be used to determine how many years the person has held his or her current license or when the license holder's current license expires

GA-0381
Greg Abbott

Interview of persons in detention facilities by employees of personal bond office, applicability of chapter 1704 of the Occupations Code|Posting bail bond surety referral telephone number in detention facilities|Signs in detention facilities, applicability of chapter 1704 of the Occupations Code to signs in detention facilities about bail bonds, personal bonds, and personal bond office|Personal bond, authority of criminal judges to order cities to post signs concerning|Bail bond referral telephone number, posting in detention facilities|Bail bond surety referral telephone number, posting in detention facilities|Solicitation by sureties, applicability of chapter 1704 of the Occupations Code to personal bond office

GA-0436
Greg Abbott

Funds deposited as a cash bail bond, clerk is required to charge administrative fee for the return of

GA-0457
Greg Abbott

Pending litigation, the attorney general's long-standing policy is to refrain from issuing an opinion on a question that is implicated in|Municipal police officer may set bail for an individual arrested on a misdemeanor charge; and may set bail for a defendant arrested on a felony charge unless the case is pending before a court|Bail, a municipal police officer may set for an individual arrested on a misdemeanor charge; may set for a defendant arrested on a felony unless the case is pending before a court|Bail, a municipal police officer may set for an individual arrested on a misdemeanor charge and may set for a defendant in a felony case unless the case is pending before a court

GA-0486
Greg Abbott

Forfeiture of bail bond is not subject to fee collected on the filing of a civil suit or fee collected on conviction of criminal offense|Bail bond forfeiture proceedings, filing fees are not collected|Bail bond forfeiture is substantively a criminal matter|Judgement nisi|Scire facias

GA-0502
Greg Abbott

Display of advertising or licensee information on a vehicle in the parking lot of the county jail, section 1704.304(c) of the Occupations Code, does not prohibit a bail bond licensee’s\r\n\r\nAdvertising of bail bonds under section 1704.101 of the Occupations Code, county bail bond board may regulate

GA-0515
Greg Abbott

Sheriff may not accept bail on offense committed in the county while accused is jailed in another state\r\n|Capias

GA-0575
Greg Abbott

Renewal of licenses, bail bond board does not have authority to temporarily extend bail bond surety license expiration dates by rule|Rule to temporarily extend the expiration date of bail bond surety licenses, a bail bond board does not have authority to promulgate or implement

GA-0663
Greg Abbott

Bail bond board, authority to dissolve

GA-0667
Greg Abbott

Revoke or suspend a bail bond surety’s license for a violation of Occupations Code section 1704or a rule adopted under that chapter, the bail bond board of the licensing county may with respect to a bond executed on a warrant issued by another county

GA-0735
Greg Abbott

Fee, county bail bond board may not impose on bonding companies to pay for the cost of hiring a bail bond administrator|Bail bond board, county, may not impose fee on bonding companies to pay for the cost of hiring a bail bond administrator

GA-0773
Greg Abbott

Cash bail bond, authority of district clerk to accept assignment of to pay fines and costs

GA-0784
Greg Abbott

Conflict of interest, sheriff’s duties with respect to acceptance of bonds and to bail bond forfeiture when the sheriff’s stepson and the stepson’s spouse are agents of a bail bond company|Sheriff’s duties with respect to acceptance of bonds and to bail bond forfeiture when the sheriff’s stepson and the stepson’s spouse are agents of a bail bond company

GA-0895
Greg Abbott

Employees of bail bondsmen, board rule imposing restrictions on employment beyond those established by statute exceed authority of bail bond board

GA-0903
Greg Abbott

Property Code section 52.006, if the county has obtained a bail bond forfeiture judgment in favor of the state, that judgment does not become dormant under|Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 17.22, any person who has signed as a surety on a bail bond and is in default thereon is prohibited from subsequently signing as a surety in a county without a bail bond board until the default is rectified under

GA-0960
Greg Abbott

Cash bail bond, a county is not entitled to deduct a fee for accounting and administrative expense from the return of a

GA-0971
Greg Abbott

Occupations Code section 1704.163, if felony conviction resulted from conduct involved with practice of executing bail bond or acting as surety, bail bond board may use felony conviction to suspend or revoke authorization granted to an attorney under|Occupations Code subsection 1704.163(b), bail bond board must determine how attorney may remedy the felony conviction and whether such remedial action has occurred in a given instance under

GA-0977
Greg Abbott

Security, form of collateral required to meet security amount requirements under Occupations Code section 1704.160 for bail bond surety license holders in counties with bail bond boards

GA-0997
Greg Abbott

Bond forfeiture collections, Government Code section 41.005 authorizes a district attorney to separate a portion of as a commission without approval of the commissioners court|Commission on bond forfeiture collection shall be deposited in the county treasury in a fund to the credit of the person or department collecting the money|Commission on bond forfeiture collection, how to use, commissioners court may determine subject to any other legal restrictions on its authority

GA-1019
Greg Abbott

Advertising by a bail bond licensee\\'s exclusive advertising in a magazine that is distributed to pretrial detainees held in the county jail could constitute unlawful \\"solicitation\\" in violation of Texas Occupations Code section 1704.304(c)

GA-1021
Greg Abbott

Code of Criminal Procedure articles 17.16 and 17.19, after a person makes bail but before a formal charging instrument is filed in the county, county court-at-law or district court, prosecution is pending before the magistrate who properly received a complaint against the accused under

GA-1087
Greg Abbott

Eligibility of a person who was convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude but who received \\"judicial clemency\\" to act as a bail bond surety

DM-0057
Dan Morales

Bail by telephone, justice of the peace may not set for person who has not yet appeared before a magistrate|Bail, amount must be determined on a case-by-case basis after the person has appeared before a magistrate|Case-by-case basis, after a person has appeared before a magistrate amount of bail must be determined on a|Pre-set bail bond amounts, magistrate may not by posting schedule at county jail|Set bail over the telephone, when person has not yet appeared before magistrate justice of the peace may not

DM-0059
Dan Morales

Bail bond board, sheriff may not accept bond from person who is not licensed by that county's|Bail bond board, to act as bail bondsman in that county a person must be licensed by county's|Sheriff may not accept bond from bondsman who is not licensed by that county's bail bond board|Licensed by county's bail bond board, to act as bail bondsman in that county person must be

DM-0073
Dan Morales

Personal bond, authority of personal bond office to hold personal property required by a magistrate as security on

DM-0108
Dan Morales

Security deposit required by section 6(f) of article 2372p-3, Revised Civil Statutes, county bail bond board is without authority to depart from requirement that applicant for bail bondsman license submit

DM-0224
Dan Morales

Bondsmen representative on county bail bond board, corporate surety casts only one vote for|Corporate surety, county bail bond board may issue multiple agent licenses to

DM-0264
Dan Morales

Corporate applicant for bail bondsman license, required security, amount, and term|Corporate bondsman, limit on total value of bonds issued by|Bail bond board, authority to question appraisal value of real estate, obtain independent appraisal of real estate, require real estate to be located within county, and to require renewal application to include current appraisals

DM-0282
Dan Morales

Cash paid in lieu of bail bond, clerk of district court may deposit in account separate from general account of county if so ordered by court or other authority|Interest on cash paid in lieu of bail bond is property of bailee|Inmates' money, sheriff may decide where to place for safekeeping subject to regulation by county auditor|Sheriff may decide where to place inmates' money for safekeeping subject to regulation by county auditor

DM-0483
Dan Morales

Sheriff's authority to determine sufficiency of security of bond executed by attorney for client|Sheriff's authority to require individual surety to post collateral|Bail bond executed by attorney for client, sheriff's authority to determine sufficiency of security|Bail bonds, sheriff's authority to determine sufficiency of security executed by attorney for client and to require individual surety to post collateral|Bail bonds, authority to determine sufficiency of security executed by attorney for client and to require individual surety to post collateral

JC-0008
John Cornyn

Attorney advertisements in bail bond section of telephone yellow pages, permissibility under Bail Bond Act|Bail bond board authority to regulate advertising by attorneys not licensed as bondsmen who write bail bonds for clients|Advertisements by attorneys in bail bond section of telephone yellow pages, permissibility under Bail Bond Act

JC-0019
John Cornyn

Bond default in another county, sheriff in county with bail bond board may not refuse bond of bondsman licensed in the county on the basis of|Default on bond in another county, sheriff in county with bail bond board may not refuse bond of bondsman licensed in the county on the basis of

JC-0024
John Cornyn

Cash bail bond, funds may not be withheld to pay fines assessed against defendant|Cash bail bond, requirements for receiving and refunding when cash deposited by person other than defendant

JC-0121
John Cornyn

Oath of office applies to contract of county judge's relative only if county judge has interest in the county|Bail bond, oath of office prohibits county judge from signing as a surety in the county; chapter 171 of Local Government Code does not apply and therefore does not provide mechanism to avoid conflict of interest|County judge is prohibited by oath of office from acting as surety on bail bond in the county|Oath of office prohibits county judge from signing as a surety on a bail bond in the county; chapter 171 of Local Government Code does not apply and therefore does not provide mechanism to avoid conflict of interest

JC-0128
John Cornyn

Corporate surety, a county bail bond board may not require separate letter of credit for each licensed agent

JC-0163
John Cornyn

Cash bail bond, section 117.055 of the Local Government Code authorizes county or district clerk to withhold administrative fee from return of funds deposited with clerk as cash bail bond|Fee may be withheld from return of funds deposited with clerk as cash bail bond

JC-0195
John Cornyn

Abandoned property, sheriff is the "holder" of cash bail bonds for cases that were never filed and unclaimed liquidated certificates of deposit securing execution of bail bonds deposited with sheriff for purposes of chapter 74 of Property Code|Cash bail bonds for cases that were never filed and unclaimed liquidated certificates of deposit securing execution of bail bonds, whether they become abandoned property|Cash bail bonds for cases that were never filed, maintenance and management|Abandoned property, whether cash bail bonds and unclaimed liquidated certificates of deposit securing execution of bail bonds on cases that were never filed become|Interest earnings on cash bail bonds and unclaimed liquidated certificates of deposit securing execution of bail bonds deposited with sheriff on cases that were never filed, disposition of|Sheriff's authority to maintain and manage cash bail bonds deposited on cases that were never filed|Sheriff's authority to maintain and manage cash bail bonds for cases that were never filed

JC-0215
John Cornyn

Split bond, magistrate may not require bailable defendant to provide, i.e., part personal bond and part bail bond|Surety, magistrate may not require bailable defendant to provide bail bond backed by a surety|Bail, magistrate may not require bailable defendant to provide split bond, i.e., part personal bond and part bail bond|Split bond|Includes|Or

JC-0277
John Cornyn

Judgment nisi, municipal judge does not have discretion to waive entry in case where attorney acts as surety for client|Attorney acting as surety for a client in municipal court, judge must require evidence of the sufficiency of the security offered as provided by chapter 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure|Bail bonds, a municipal court must require from an attorney acting as surety for a client evidence of the sufficiency of the security offered as provided by chapter 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure|Bail bonds, municipal court must require from an attorney acting as surety for a client evidence of the sufficiency of the security offered as provided by chapter 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure

JC-0366
John Cornyn

Bail bond surety, applicant for licensure may submit evidence of the value of real property to be executed in trust to the county bail bond board|Adjudicative powers of county bail bond board|Applicant for license as bail bond surety may submit evidence of the value of real property to be executed in trust to the county bail bond board

JC-0428
John Cornyn

Deliberation and decision-making, bail bond board member's delegation of must be expressly authorized|Alternate licensed bail bond surety to serve on county bail bond board when licensed bail bond surety representative is unable to attend meetings, board may not permit

JC-0472
John Cornyn

Licensing eligibility, relative who inherits bail bond business from deceased licensee and applies for a bail bond license is excepted only from work-experience and course-work eligibility requirements; bail bond board may not adopt rule extending this ex|Licensing eligibility, relative who inherits bail bond business from deceased licensee must obtain his or her own bail bond license and is only excepted from the work-experience and course-work eligibility requirements

JC-0479
John Cornyn

Licensing eligibility requirements for sureties, newly enacted work-experience and course-work requirements for bail bond licensees do not apply to an application for an original license filed with the county bail bond board prior to the new law's effective date

JC-0496
John Cornyn

Failure to regularly attend meetings of the El Paso County Bail Bond Board, commissioners court nor the bail bond board may remove members for|El Paso County Bail Bond Board, justice of the peace member should be selected by and from among eligible justices of the peace of the county by any reasonable method|Members of El Paso County Bail Bond Board, members appointed or selected by others serve at the pleasure of the appointing or selecting authority|Members of El Paso County Bail Bond Board, members who are members by virtue of their elective office serve on board for duration of their parent office|Justice of the peace appointed to serve as member of El Paso County Bail Bond Board should be selected by and from among eligible justices of the peace of the county by any reasonable method

JC-0528
John Cornyn

Legal fees|Pay|Legal fee, bail bond surety is prohibited from collecting legal fee from a client and remitting it to an attorney

JC-0534
John Cornyn

Employment of felon by bonding business, person exempted from application of statute forbidding does not lose exemption simply because business changes hands

JC-0541
John Cornyn

Bail, sheriff in a county that does not have bail bond board is not authorized to post list of preapproved bondsmen in the county jail|List of preapproved bondsmen, sheriff in a county that does not have bail bond board is not authorized to post in the county jail

JM-1172
Jim Mattox

Fee of $20, sheriff may not impose for release of inmate at the time a bail bond is filed

JM-1217
Jim Mattox

Municipal police officer may accept bond for non-municipal offense at location other than county jail pursuant to bond documents prepared by the county sheriff's department|Lending of credit, municipal police officer's acceptance of bond for non-municipal offense and transfer of bond to sheriff's department does not involve

JM-1245
Jim Mattox

Letter of credit as cash equivalent, applicant for license to execute bail bonds may satisfy statutory financial security requirement by submitting|Letter of credit|Cash equivalent

KP-0272
Ken Paxton

Subsection 1704.304(c) of the Occupations Code prohibits a bail bond surety from soliciting business in a police station, jail, prison, detention facility, or other place of detainment for persons in the custody of law enforcement.  Based on the description provided, a court would likely conclude that a signboard installed inside a jail facility by a third party providing information about available bail bond services does not amount to a solicitation and is therefore not prohibited under subsection 1704.304(c).

The First Amendment does not impose any duty on a public official with control over a detention facility to provide a public forum for third-party contractors to install and maintain an informational signboard in the facility.

KP-0392
Ken Paxton

Trial judge cannot refuse a surety’s affidavit to surrender a principal

JS-0001
John Scott

Code of Criminal Procedure article 103.0031 generally permits a county or a municipality to enter into a third-party collection contract to recover money owed on certain items in criminal cases, including forfeited bonds. The reference to a non-existent “section” in Code of Criminal Procedure article 103.0031(h), providing that “[t]his section does not apply to commercial bail bonds,” is a scrivener’s error that creates an absurdity, such that a court would likely construe its exception to refer to article 103.0031.

A court would likely conclude that attorney sureties execute “commercial bail bonds” to the extent they sell their bonding services for a fee or commission. As such, article 103.0031(h) would prohibit a commissioners court from entering into a third-party contract for collection services on forfeited attorney surety bail bonds. Instead, forfeited attorney surety bonds would be collected by district and county attorneys, clerks of district and county courts, sheriffs, constables, and justices of the peace pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure article 103.003(a).
 

AC-0002
Angela Colmenero

Who may deny bail when a defendant is charged with committing a felony while on bail for a prior offense committed in the same county.