| Chapter 415 |
| 2017 -- H 5206 Enacted 10/05/2017 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- BAIL AND RECOGNIZANCE |
| Introduced By: Representatives Craven, Knight, and McEntee |
| Date Introduced: January 26, 2017 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Sections 12-13-10, 12-13-16 and 12-13-16.1 of the General Laws in |
| Chapter 12-13 entitled "Bail and Recognizance" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 12-13-10. Deposit of money in lieu of bail. -- Any person who is held in custody or |
| committed upon a criminal charge, if entitled to be released on bail, may at any time, instead of |
| giving surety or sureties, in the discretion of the court, give before the court in which he or she is |
| held to appear his or her personal recognizance to appear and do as ordered by the court, and shall |
| be allowed to deposit, either individually or by another on his or her behalf, with the court in |
| money ten percent (10%) of the amount of bail which he or she is ordered to furnish, and the |
| justice or clerk of the court shall give him or her a certificate, and upon delivery of the certificate |
| to the officer in whose custody he or she is shall be released from custody, and the money shall be |
| deposited in the registry of the court before which the person shall be recognized to appear. |
| Consistent with Article 1, § 9 of the Rhode Island Constitution, the giving of surety, or in the |
| alternative the deposit with the court of ten percent (10%) of the amount of bail set, shall be the |
| sole monetary conditions of the release on bail, except as set forth herein. No court shall require |
| the deposit of cash as the sole monetary condition of the release on bail, except in those cases |
| where the defendant owes court-imposed restitution. Upon the default of the defendant, the court |
| before which he or she is recognized to appear may, at any time thereafter, order the money |
| deposited in the registry of the court or in the discretion of the court the entire amount of the bail |
| set to be forfeited, subject to the provisions of §§12-13-16, 12-13-16.1 and 12-13-16.2, and the |
| money shall be paid to the general treasurer. If money has been deposited and the defendant at |
| any time before forfeiture shall appear before the court to which he or she was recognized to |
| appear, and shall surrender himself or herself, or shall recognize before the court with sufficient |
| surety or sureties, in such an amount, to appear and do as the court may order, or be in any |
| manner legally discharged, then the court shall order the return of the deposit to the defendant. If |
| the money remains on deposit at the time of a judgment for the payment of a fine and costs, |
| restitution, or any other assessment issued by the court, the clerk must apply the money in |
| satisfaction of the judgment, and after satisfying the fine and costs, restitution, or any other |
| assessment must refund the surplus, if any, to the defendant or to the individual who posted the |
| money on behalf of the defendant, as the case may be. |
| 12-13-16. Process on default of recognizance. -- (a) Whenever any person under |
| recognizance shall fail to perform the condition of his or her recognizance, or failed to appear as |
| required by the terms and conditions of their his or her bail or recognizance, the default shall be |
| recorded and process shall be issued against the persons bound in the recognizance, or those of |
| them as the attorney general shall direct. |
| (b) No process for forfeiture of bail nor any petition for forfeiture of bail may be filed by |
| the attorney general, or designee, or otherwise initiated prior to the expiration of forty-five (45) |
| days after any warrant issued by any court has been entered into the court's database, the database |
| of the bureau of criminal identification (BCI) for the state of Rhode Island, and the database for |
| the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). |
| 12-13-16.1. Forfeiture of bail. -- (a) In any criminal case, whenever, after a hearing, it |
| has been shown to the satisfaction of the court that the defendant has left the jurisdiction of the |
| court or has failed to appear as required or has failed to perform the condition of his or her |
| recognizance, the court shall order that the bail and/or any security for bail be forfeited. |
| (b) Any person who has had bail posted with the assistance of a licensed bondsperson, |
| and who is subsequently arrested on a bench warrant and brought before the court, or who fails to |
| appear and is subsequently brought before the court without the intervention of or through a |
| licensed bondsperson, shall not be released by the court on the same bail unless and until the |
| licensed bondsperson who posted the original bail has been notified and been provided an |
| opportunity to be heard regarding the licensed bondsperson's willingness to continue as surety for |
| the defendant/bailee. The court may, however, release the defendant within twenty-four (24) |
| hours if the licensed bondsperson cannot be located or otherwise fails to appear to address the |
| court relative to the original bail. |
| SECTION 2. Chapter 12-13 of the General Laws entitled "Bail and Recognizance" is |
| hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 12-13-16.2. Forfeiture of bail -- Licensed bondsperson. -- (a) In any criminal case, |
| whenever a forfeiture of bail has been ordered pursuant to §12-13-16.1 and where the bail and/or |
| security for bail has been posted by a licensed bondsperson registered with the court, the court |
| shall only order an amount to be forfeited up to, but not more than, ten percent (10%) of the |
| original bail set and pledged as surety. |
| (b) Subsequent to any forfeiture of bail pursuant to §12-13-16.2(a)subsection (a) of this |
| section, and prior to the forfeiture of further surety pledged by a licensed bondsperson provided |
| herein, the court shall: |
| (1) Provide the licensed bondsperson a period of time equal to six (6) months to return |
| the fugitive to the court before further pledged surety shall be forfeited. Before ordering further |
| forfeiture, the court shall conduct a hearing and provide the licensed bondsperson an opportunity |
| to demonstrate all reasonable actions the bondperson took to locate, apprehend, and return the |
| fugitive to the court. The court shall consider the due diligence of the licensed bondsperson in |
| determining how much, if any, of the remaining amount of surety the bondsperson shall be |
| ordered to forfeit for the failure or inability to locate, apprehend, and return the fugitive to the |
| court. The court at that time may provide the licensed bondsperson with additional time in which |
| to locate and return the fugitive. |
| (2) In the event that the licensed bondsperson fails or is unable to locate and return the |
| fugitive, the court may order an amount to be forfeited up to, but not more than, ten percent |
| (10%) of the original bail set and pledged as surety, plus the reasonable expenses incurred by the |
| state in attempting to locate and apprehend the fugitive; and provided;, further, that if the fugitive |
| is found and presented before the court within six (6) months of the issuance of the warrant, there |
| shall be no forfeiture. |
| (3) The bondsperson shall be responsible to pay all fees and costs associated with the |
| entry of any warrant into the BCI or the NCIC prior to its entry into either database as required in |
| §12-13-16(b). Upon request of the bondsperson, the clerk of the court shall provide a certified |
| copy of the arrest warrant to the bondsperson without charge to insure the bondsperson's ability to |
| locate, apprehend, and return the fugitive from outside the state of Rhode Island. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC001008 |
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