Bail-Bond Agents Gamble on the Unknown When Posting Bail for Defendants

In this country, an accused is considered innocent until proven guilty, though human emotions often lead us to blame the accused before the evidence is presented in court and a verdict is rendered. The last two weeks have been very sad ones for law enforcement in this country. We saw the horrific shooting deaths of six officers in Lakewood, Wa., -- Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, Greg Richards and Ronald Owens at the hands of Maurice Clemmons, as well as the untimely deaths of Phillip Davis, of Pelham, Al., at the hands of Wayne Bart Johnson and Michael Crawshaw, Penn Hills, Pa., whose killer is still at large. At the heart of the criminal process is the issue of posting bail. Bail bond agents are literally faced with a conundrum of "you never know" and it is patently unfair to level blame against these agencies when the accused, such as Maurice Clemmons, do not live up to the terms of their agreement by re-offending or absconding.

There are literally hundreds of bonds for a myriad of needs and the bail bond is just a small sector. Surety bonds are integral tool for managing and mitigating risk in the business world. They are a paramount and often-times mandatory production element for contractors. Surety Bonds is one such company that provides a wide range of surety bonds, including contract bonds, court bonds, commercial bonds and state bonds. For example, the economic downturn has forced subcontractors in Jacksonville, Fla., to bid lower to win work, sometimes even below their own fixed cost. To protect themselves against that increased risk, a growing number of general contractors are asking subcontractors to purchase surety bonds, which are insurance policies used to pay for unfinished work if the subcontractor does not complete the job or goes out of business. That's where a company such as Surety Bonds comes in. 

Bail-bond agents are often the subject of movies and television shows, but the average person doesn’t run into them unless they’re in trouble. It’s a little-known industry, except to people working in the legal system. Bail-bond agents go through criminal-background checks and training and have to pass exams by both agencies to be licensed. Posting a bond is a promise that the defendant will appear in court when required and will refrain from any activity the judge or magistrate orders. There are four types of bonds -- personal recognizance bond for which no money is paid; cash bond, which is a money guarantee that the defendant will return to court when required and the defendant must pay the full bail amount to the court before being released; ten-percent bond, in which the court will accept 10 percent of the full bail amount; and the last type is a surety bond, which is a promise made by an approved bondsman that the defendant will appear as required. In the last case, a bondsman must prove to the court that he or she has sufficient financial resources to pay the full bail amount if the defendant does not appear as required.

John Wickert, the owner of Jail Sucks Bonds, which posted bail for cop-killer Maurice Clemmons, stated that  he was unaware Clemmons had recently been sent to Western State Hospital for a mental evaluation or that he was facing a potential life sentence under Washington's "Three Strikes, You're Out" law. It is quite obvious that there was a serious breakdown within the court system for the release of this man. Besides the fact that he was being charged with raping a minor and assaulting a police officer, he was wanted on warrants in the state of Arkansas. He should have never been given an opportunity to post bond. The reality is that a defendant charged with a violent crime should not be given the opportunity to post the 10 percent bail through a bond agency, but should be made to pay the entire bail amount themselves. A prelim­inary court hearing has been set for January in Shelby Count, Al., for Wayne Bart Johnson, on a charge of capi­tal murder in connection with Phillip Davis. It will be very interesting to see if he will be allowed to post bond and how much it will be.