HB476INTRODUCED
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HB476
M9ACWHH-1
By Representative Stringer
RFD: Judiciary
First Read: 23-Apr-24
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5 M9ACWHH-1 04/16/2024 THR (L)THR 2024-1475
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First Read: 23-Apr-24
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, a person commits the crime
of bail jumping in the second degree if, having been
lawfully released from custody, with or without bail,
upon condition that he or she will subsequently appear
at a specified time and place in connection with a
charge of having committed any misdemeanor or Class C
felony, he or she fails to appear at that time and
place.
This bill would add a Class D felony to the
crime of bail jumping in the second degree.
Under existing law, the arrest and delivery of a
defendant after the entry of a conditional forfeiture
against the surety does not exonerate the surety unless
the court finds good cause for the defendant's failure
to appear.
This bill would provide that a surety is
exonerated if the surety arrests and delivers the
defendant following the entry of a conditional
forfeiture against the surety.
Under existing law, when a defendant fails to
appear in court as required by the undertaking of bail
and no sufficient excuse for the failure to appear has
been provided to the court, the court shall order a
conditional forfeiture and show cause order against a
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conditional forfeiture and show cause order against a
defendant and the sureties of a bond.
This bill would provide that a conditional
forfeiture and show cause order shall be ordered by the
court within 90 days of the defendant's failure to
appear.
Under existing law, a court shall set aside a
conditional forfeiture under specific circumstances.
This bill would provide that a conditional
forfeiture shall be set aside by a court if the surety
arrests a defendant and delivers the defendant to the
authorized jail and the jail refuses to accept the
defendant.
This bill would also provide that a conditional
forfeiture shall be set aside by a court if the offense
is a felony and the surety shows the governing
authorities declined to enter the defendant into the
National Crime Information Center database with
nationwide extradition or declined to proceed with
extradition.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to crimes and offenses; to amend Section
13A-10-40, Code of Alabama 1975; to further provide for the
crime of bail jumping in the second degree; to amend Sections
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crime of bail jumping in the second degree; to amend Sections
15-13-118, 15-13-131, and 15-13-138, Code of Alabama 1975, as
last amended by Act 2023-476, 2023 Regular Session; to further
provide for the exoneration of sureties; to further provide
for court orders following failure to appear; and to further
provide for conditional forfeitures.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 13A-10-40, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§13A-10-40
(a) A person commits the crime of bail jumping in the
second degree if, having been lawfully released from custody,
with or without bail, upon condition that he or she will
subsequently appear at a specified time and place in
connection with a charge of his having committed any
misdemeanor, Class D felony, or Class C felony, he or she
fails to appear at that time and place.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section
that the defendant's failure to appear was unintentional or
was unavoidable and due to circumstances beyond his or her
control. The burden of injecting the defense of an
unintentional failure to appear, or unavoidability and
circumstances beyond his or her control, is on the defendant.
(c) This section does not apply to a person released
from custody on condition that he or she will appear in
connection with a charge of having committed a misdemeanor in
violation of Title 32 of this Code.
(d) Bail jumping in the second degree is a Class A
misdemeanor."
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misdemeanor."
Section 2. Sections 15-13-118, 15-13-131, and
15-13-138, Code of Alabama 1975, as last amended by Act
2023-476, 2023 Regular Session, are amended to read as
follows:
"§15-13-118
After the entry of a conditional forfeiture against any
surety on an undertaking of bail, the surety may arrest the
defendant as provided in Section 15-13-117, and the arrest and
delivery of the defendant to the authorized jail as stated in
Section 15-13-117 shall not exonerate the surety unless, in
the judgment of the court, a good and sufficient cause is
given for the failure of the defendant to appear at the time
the conditional judgement was entered ."
"§15-13-131
(a) When a defendant fails to appear in court as
required by the undertaking of bail and no sufficient excuse
has been provided to the court prior to the hearing, the court
shall order a conditional forfeiture and show cause order
against the defendant and the sureties of the bail within 90
days of the defendant's failure to appear . The court shall
notify the defendant and the sureties of the order as set out
in this article. The defendant or, sureties, or both, shall
file a written response with the clerk of the court within 30
days after the date of service of the notice why the bond
should not be forfeited. If a written response is filed within
the time allowed and the court is of the opinion the written
response is sufficient, the court shall set aside the
conditional forfeiture. If the court is of the opinion the
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conditional forfeiture. If the court is of the opinion the
written response is not sufficient, the court shall set a
hearing to determine whether the bond should be forfeited. The
hearing shall not be set less than 120 days after the service
of the conditional forfeiture order. If no written response
has been filed after 30 days from the date of service of the
notice, the court may enter an appropriate order or final
judgment forfeiting all or part of the amount of the bond
which shall be enforceable as any civil judgment. The court
may take into consideration the circumstances provided to the
court and continue any final forfeiture hearing to another day
and time allowing the sureties more time to apprehend the
defendant.
(b) When an undertaking of bail is forfeited by the
failure of the defendant to appear as required, except when
money is deposited as cash bail, a conditional judgment shall
be rendered by the court in favor of the state or its
subdivisions, for the use of the proper city, county, or
state, against the parties to the undertaking for the sum
thereon expressed, which judgment may be substantially as
follows:
(State of or City of) Charge: _______vs Case No.
______A.B.___________ C.D.___________ E.F.
(Sureties)__________
It being known to the court that A.B., together with
(Sureties) _____ , agreed to pay the State of Alabama (or City
of _____,) _____ dollars (the sum specified in the
undertaking), unless A.B. appeared at the time and place
mentioned and fixed in the bond or undertaking to answer in
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mentioned and fixed in the bond or undertaking to answer in
this case and A.B. having failed to appear at the time and
place mentioned in the bond or undertaking, it is therefore
ordered by the court that the State of Alabama (or City of
_____,) for the use of _____ State (or City), recover of the
defendant and sureties on the undertakings, the sum of _____
dollars (the sum specified in the undertaking), unless they
file a written response and show cause why this judgment
should not be made absolute within 30 days after the date of
service of this conditional forfeiture order.
(c) The state shall remit one-half of the funds it
receives under subsections (a) and (b) to the county in which
the defendant was charged. The funds shall be deposited into
the general fund of the county and used for the maintenance
and operation of the county jail."
"§15-13-138
The court shall set aside the conditional forfeiture in
its entirety for the following reasons or under the following
circumstances:
(1) If the sureties can show that the defendant was
hospitalized at the time he or she was to appear in court, or
if the sureties can produce sufficient evidence that the
defendant was not able to attend court for reason of illness,
by producing a doctor's certificate or letter to that effect.
The hospitalization may be in or out of this state. For the
sureties to take advantage of this subdivision, they shall put
the court on notice that the situation exists either prior to
the issuance of the conditional forfeiture order or within 30
days after legal service of the conditional forfeiture on the
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days after legal service of the conditional forfeiture on the
sureties. After receiving notice, the court may continue the
case to a future date it deems proper and just for the
defendant to appear. If at that time the defendant is still
not able to attend court for the same reason, then it shall be
the burden of the sureties to produce the evidence within the
same prescribed time. This section does not bar the court from
the issuance of a bench warrant for the defendant in cases
where the court feels that documents of proof do not reflect
the truth, or where the court has reason to believe the
defendant may appear and he or she is using the documents of
proof as an excuse to avoid appearance.
(2) If the sureties show that the defendant was
confined in jail or in the custody of another jurisdiction in
this state or any other state, at the time of his or her
original appearance or on the date of the issuance of the
conditional forfeiture order, or if the surety shows that the
defendant is still confined in any jail in this state or any
other state, or in the custody of another jurisdiction within
this state or any other state, or in the custody of another
jurisdiction within the continental United States, including
United States federal jurisdiction, the court shall set aside
the conditional forfeiture and continue the case until a time
after the end of that confinement. If the court later learns
that the defendant is free from confinement before the
confinement was supposed to end, then the court, with notice
to the sureties, may reset the case and the burden shall be on
the sureties to produce the defendant for the hearing or the
court may issue another conditional forfeiture.
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court may issue another conditional forfeiture.
(3) If the sureties show the defendant is deceased.
(4) If the sureties show the defendant was serving on
active duty in one of the military services of the United
States.
(5) If the sureties arrest the defendant and deliver
the defendant to the authorized jail and the jail refuses to
accept the defendant.
(6) If the sureties show that the governing authorities
declined to enter the defendant into the National Crime
Information Center database with nationwide extradition or
declined to proceed with extradition. This subdivision shall
only apply to bail involving a felony. The court may include
the cost of extradition as a court cost upon the disposition
of the case."
Section 2.Section 3. This act shall become effective on
October 1, 2024.
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