These are the Mississippi bail bonds laws as they pertain to the defendant. Read these laws if you feel your bondsman has cheated you or you simply wish to understand more about the Mississippi bail bonds rules and regulations.
2013 Mississippi Code: Title 99 – Criminal Procedure
Chapter 5 – Bail
§ 99-5-5 – Bonds to be made payable to state; effect; expiration and renewal
All bonds and recognizances taken for the appearance of any party, either as defendant, prosecutor, or witness in any criminal proceeding or matter, shall be made payable to the state, and shall have the effect to bind the accused and his sureties on the bond or recognizance until the principal shall be discharged by due course of law, and shall be in full force, from term to term, for a period of three (3) years, except that a bond returnable to the Supreme Court shall be in full force for a period of five (5) years. If it is necessary to renew a bond, it shall be renewed without additional premium. At the end of the applicable period, a bond or recognizance that is not renewed shall expire and shall be un-collectible unless the collection process was started on or before the expiration date of such bond or recognizance. Any bond or recognizance taken prior to July 1, 1996, shall expire on July 1, 1999. If a defendant is charged with multiple counts in one (1) warrant only one (1) bond shall be taken.
99-5-7 – Fidelity or surety insurance company may give bail
Bail may be given to the sheriff or officer holding the defendant in custody, by a fidelity or surety insurance company authorized to act as surety within the State of Mississippi. Any such company may execute the undertaking as surety by the hand of officer or attorney authorized thereto by a resolution of its board of directors, a certified copy of which, under its corporate seal, shall be on file with the clerk of the circuit court and the sheriff of the county, and such authority shall be deemed in full force and effect until revoked in writing by notice to said clerk and sheriff.
§ 99-5-9 – Cash bail bond
(1) In addition to any type of bail allowed by statute, any committing court, in its discretion, may allow any defendant, to whom bail is allowable, to deposit cash as bail bond in lieu of a surety or property bail bond, by depositing such cash sum as the court may direct with the sheriff or officer having custody of defendant, who shall receipt therefor and who shall forthwith deliver the said monies to the county treasurer, who shall receipt therefor in duplicate. The sheriff, or other officer, upon receipt of the county treasurer, shall forthwith deliver one (1) copy of such receipt to the committing court who shall then order the release of such defendant.
(2) The order of the court shall set forth the conditions upon which such cash bond is allowed and shall be determined to be the agreement upon which the bailee has agreed.
(3) The sums received by the county treasurer shall be deposited by him in a special fund to be known as “Cash Bail Fund,” and shall be received by him subject to the terms and conditions of the order of the court.
(4) If the committing court authorizes bail by a cash deposit under subsection (1) of this section, but anyone authorized to release a criminal defendant allows the deposit of an amount less than the full amount of the bail ordered by the court, the defendant may post bail by a professional bail agent in an amount equal to one-fourth (1/4) of the full amount fixed under subsection (1) or the amount of the actual deposit whichever is greater.
§ 99-5-11 – Justice court judges may take recognizance or bond; certificate of default; alias warrant; requirement that protection order registry be checked before granting bail
(1) All justice court judges and all other conservators of the peace are authorized, whenever a person is brought before them charged with any offense not capital for which bail is allowed by law, to take the recognizance or bond of the person, with sufficient sureties, in such penalty as the justice court judge or conservator of the peace may require, for his appearance before the justice court judge or conservator of the peace for an examination of his case at some future day. And if the person thus recognized or thus giving bond fails to appear at the appointed time, it shall be the duty of the justice court judge or conservator of the peace to return the recognizance or bond, with his certificate of default, to the court having jurisdiction of the case, and a recovery may be had therein by scire facias, as in other cases of forfeiture. The justice court judge or other conservator of the peace shall also issue an alias warrant for the defaulter.
(2) In circumstances involving an offense against any of the following: (a) a current or former spouse of the accused or child of that person; (b) a person living as a spouse or who formerly lived as a spouse with the accused or a child of that person; (c) a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to the accused; (d) a person who has a current or former dating relationship with the accused; or (e) a person with whom the accused has had a biological or legally adopted child, the justice court judge or other conservator of the peace shall check, or cause to be made a check, of the status of the person for whom recognizance or bond is taken before ordering bail in the Mississippi Protection Order Registry authorized under Section 93-21-25, and the existence of a domestic abuse protection order against the accused shall be considered when determining appropriate bail.
§ 99-5-13 – Court may require additional bail
When it shall appear to the court before which any person charged with a criminal offense has given bail to appear that such bail is insufficient in any respect, the court may order the issuance of process for the arrest of such person, and may require him to give bail as may be ordered, and, in default thereof, may commit him to jail as in other cases.
§ 99-5-15 – Duty of officer to release defendant from custody; approval of sureties
It is the duty of the sheriff or other officer having custody of such defendant, upon his compliance with the order of the committing court or officer, to release him from custody; and he shall approve the sureties on the bond, except admitted and authorized fidelity and surety insurance companies acting as surety, and for that purpose may examine them on oath, or take their affidavit in writing, and may administer such oath.
§ 99-5-17 – Sheriff to return bail-bond to clerk
It is the duty of the sheriff taking a bail-bond to return the same to the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed on or before the first day of the next term thereof.
§ 99-5-21 – Bond good though it does not describe offense
All bonds and recognizances taken in criminal cases, whether they describe the offense actually committed or not, shall have the effect to hold the party bound thereby to answer to such offense as he may have actually committed, and shall be valid for that purpose until he be discharged by the court.
§ 99-5-23 – Bonds, recognizances, etc., to be valid and binding whether or not properly taken or recited in return of officer
All bonds, recognizances, or acknowledgments of indebtedness, conditioned for the appearance of any party before any court or officer, in any state case or criminal proceeding, which shall have the effect to free such party from jail or legal custody of any sort, shall be valid and bind the party and sureties, according to the condition of such bond, recognizance, or acknowledgment, whether it was taken by the proper officer or under circumstances authorized by law or not, or whether the officer’s return identify it or not.
It shall not be an objection to any bail-bond or recognizance that it is in the form of an acknowledgment before a court or officer and is without the signature of any person, or is without the indorsement of approval by any officer; but all persons who, by their acknowledgment before any officer of liability to pay a sum of money to the state if some person shall not appear before some court or officer in a criminal prosecution, procure the discharge from custody of such person, shall be bound accordingly upon the recognizance. An obligation signed by a person to obtain the discharge from custody of another shall not be invalid, if it have that effect, because it does not have indorsed on it the approval of any officer, or because the taking thereof be not recited in the return of the officer.
§ 99-5-25 – Forfeiture of bond; scire facias
(1) (a) The purpose of bail is to guarantee appearance and a bail bond shall not be forfeited for any other reason.
(b) If a defendant in any criminal case, proceeding or matter fails to appear for any proceeding as ordered by the court, then the court shall order the bail forfeited and a judgment nisi and a bench warrant issued at the time of nonappearance. The clerk of the court shall notify the surety of the forfeiture by writ of scire facias, with a copy of the judgment nisi and bench warrant attached thereto, within ten (10) working days of such order of judgment nisi either by personal service or by certified mail. Failure of the clerk to provide the required notice within ten (10) working days shall constitute prima facie evidence that the order should be set aside.
(c) The judgment nisi shall be returnable for ninety (90) days from the date of issuance. If during such period the defendant appears before the court, or is arrested and surrendered, then the judgment nisi shall be set aside. If the surety produces the defendant or provides to the court reasonable mitigating circumstances upon such showing, then the forfeiture shall not be made final. If the forfeiture is made final, a copy of the final judgment shall be served on the surety within ten (10) working days by either personal service or certified mail. Reasonable mitigating circumstances shall be that the defendant is incarcerated in another jurisdiction, that the defendant is hospitalized under a doctor’s care, that the defendant is in a recognized drug rehabilitation program, that the defendant has been placed in a witness protection program and it shall be the duty of any such agency placing such defendant into a witness protection program to notify the court and the court to notify the surety, or any other reason justifiable to the court.
§ 99-5-29 – Surety may cause arrest of principal by officer
The sheriff or a constable in a proper case, upon the request of a surety in any bond or recognizance, and tender of the legal fee for executing a capias in a criminal case, and the production of a certified copy of the bond of recognizance, shall arrest, within his county, the principal in the bond or recognizance. The surety or his agent shall accompany the officer to receive the person.
§ 99-5-31 – Mittimus in bailable cases to fix the bail
When a defendant charged with a criminal offense shall be committed to jail by a court, judge, justice or other officer, for default in not giving bail, it is the duty of such court or officer to state in the mittimus the nature of the offense, the county where committed, the amount of bail, and number of sureties required, and to direct the sheriff of the county where such party is ordered to be confined to release him, on his entering into bond as required by the order of the court or committing officer; and this shall apply to a case where, on habeas corpus, an order for bail may be made.
§ 99-5-33 – Accused committed to prison if injured party is dangerously wounded = NO BAIL
If a person be dangerously wounded the party accused shall be committed to prison until it be known whether the person wounded will recover or not, unless it appear to the court of inquiry that the case, in any event, would not amount to murder; in which case, or in the event that the person wounded do or will recover, the accused shall be dealt with as in other cases.
§ 99-5-35 – When prisoner charged with capital offense entitled to bail
Any person having been twice tried on an indictment charging a capital offense, wherein each trial has resulted in a failure of the jury to agree upon his guilt or innocence, shall be entitled to bail in an amount to be set by the court.
§ 99-5-37 – Domestic violence, aggravated domestic violence, aggravated stalking, knowing violation of bond or knowing violation of domestic abuse protection order; required appearance before judge; considerations; conditions
(1) In any arrest for (a) a misdemeanor that is an act of domestic violence as defined in Section 99-3-7(5); (b) aggravated domestic violence as defined in Section 97-3-7(4); (c) aggravated stalking as defined in Section 97-3-107(2); (d) a knowing violation of a condition of bond imposed pursuant to this section; or (e) a knowing violation of a domestic abuse protection order issued pursuant to Section 93-21-1 et seq., or a similar order issued by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose of protecting a person from domestic abuse, no bail shall be granted until the person arrested has appeared before a judge of the court of competent jurisdiction. The appearance may be by telephone. Nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with the defendant’s right to an initial appearance or preliminary hearing.
(2) Upon setting bail, the judge may impose on the arrested person a holding period not to exceed twenty-four (24) hours from the time of the initial appearance or setting of bail. The judge also shall give particular consideration to the exigencies of the case, including, but not limited to, (a) the potential for further violence; (b) the past history, if any, of violence between the defendant and alleged victim; (c) the level of violence of the instant offense; (d) any threats of further violence; and (e) the existence of a domestic violence protection order prohibiting the defendant from engaging in abusive behavior, and shall impose any specific conditions on the bond as he or she may deem necessary. Specific conditions which may be imposed by the judge may include, but are not limited to, the issuance of an order prohibiting the defendant from contacting the alleged victim prior to trial, prohibiting the defendant from abusing or threatening the alleged victim or requiring defendant to refrain from drug or alcohol use.
(3) All bond conditions imposed by the court shall be entered into the corresponding Uniform Offense Report and written notice of the conditions shall be provided at no cost to the arrested person upon his or her release, to the appropriate law enforcement agency, and to the clerk of the court. Upon request, a copy of the written notice of conditions shall be provided at no cost to the victim. In any prosecution for violation of a bond condition imposed pursuant to this section, it shall not be a defense that the bond conditions were not entered into the corresponding Uniform Offense Report.
(4) Within twenty-four (24) hours of a violation of any bond conditions imposed pursuant to this section, any law enforcement officer having probable cause to believe that the violation occurred may make a warrantless arrest of the violator.
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with the judges’ authority, if any, to deny bail or to otherwise lawfully detain a particular defendant.
§ 99-5-38 – Use of global positioning monitoring system as condition of bond for defendant in domestic violence case; definitions; information to be provided victim
(1) (a) “Domestic violence” has the same meaning as the term “abuse” as defined in Section 93-21-3.
(b) “Global positioning monitoring system” means a system that electronically determines and reports the location of an individual through the use of a transmitter or similar device carried or worn by the individual that transmits latitude and longitude data to a monitoring entity through global positioning satellite technology. The term does not include a system that contains or operates global positioning system technology, radio frequency identification technology or any other similar technology that is implanted in or otherwise invades or violates the individual’s body.
(2) The court may require as a condition of release on bond that a defendant charged with an offense involving domestic violence:
(a) Refrain from going to or near a residence, school, place of employment, or other location, as specifically described in the bond, frequented by an alleged victim of the offense;
(b) Carry or wear a global positioning monitoring system device and, except as provided by subsection (8), pay the costs associated with operating that system in relation to the defendant; or
(c) If the alleged victim of the offense consents after receiving the information described by subsection (4) and, except as provided by subsection (8), pay the costs associated with providing the victim with an electronic receptor device that:
(i) Is capable of receiving the global positioning monitoring system information from the device carried or worn by the defendant; and
(ii) Notifies the victim if the defendant is at or near a location that the defendant has been ordered to refrain from going to or near under paragraph (a).
(3) Before imposing a condition described by subsection (2)(a), the court must afford an alleged victim an opportunity to provide the court with a list of areas from which the victim would like the defendant excluded and shall consider the victim’s request, if any, in determining the locations the defendant will be ordered to refrain from going to or near. If the court imposes a condition described by subsection (2)(a), the court shall specifically describe the locations that the defendant has been ordered to refrain from going to or near and the minimum distances, if any, that the defendant must maintain from those locations.
(4) Before imposing a condition described by subsection (2)(c), the court must provide to an alleged victim information regarding:
(a) The victim’s right to participate in a global positioning monitoring system or to refuse to participate in that system and the procedure for requesting that the court terminate the victim’s participation;
(b) The manner in which the global positioning monitoring system technology functions and the risks and limitations of that technology, and the extent to which the system will track and record the victim’s location and movements;
(c) Any locations that the defendant is ordered to refrain from going to or near and the minimum distances, if any, that the defendant must maintain from those locations;
(d) Any sanctions that the court may impose on the defendant for violating a condition of bond imposed under this section;
(e) The procedure that the victim is to follow, and support services available to assist the victim, if the defendant violates a condition of bond or if the global positioning monitoring system equipment fails;
(f) Community services available to assist the victim in obtaining shelter, counseling, education, child care, legal representation, and other assistance available to address the consequences of domestic violence; and
(g) The fact that the victim’s communications with the court concerning the global positioning monitoring system and any restrictions to be imposed on the defendant’s movements are not confidential.
(5) In addition to the information described by subsection (4), the court shall provide to an alleged victim who participates in a global positioning monitoring system under this section the name and telephone number of an appropriate person employed by a local law enforcement agency who the victim may call to request immediate assistance if the defendant violates a condition of bond imposed under this section.
(6) In determining whether to order a defendant’s participation in a global positioning monitoring system under this section, the court shall consider the likelihood that the defendant’s participation will deter the defendant from seeking to kill, physically injure, stalk, or otherwise threaten the alleged victim before trial.
(7) An alleged victim may request that the court terminate the victim’s participation in a global positioning monitoring system at any time. The court may not impose sanctions on the victim for requesting termination of the victim’s participation in or refusing to participate in a global positioning monitoring system under this section.
(8) The court may allow a defendant to perform community service in lieu of paying the costs required by subsection (2)(b) or (c) if the court determines that the defendant is indigent.
(9) The court that imposes a condition described by subsection (2)(a) or (b) shall order the entity that operates the global positioning monitoring system to notify the court and the appropriate local law enforcement agency if a defendant violates a condition of bond imposed under this section.
(10) This section does not limit the authority of the court to impose any other reasonable conditions of bond or enter any orders of protection under other applicable statutes.
§ 99-5-39 – Appearance bond as condition of any court ordered supervision; defendant’s failure to appear as grounds for forfeiture of bond
(1) As a condition of any probation, community control, payment plan for any fine imposed or any other court ordered supervision, the court may order the posting of a bond to secure the appearance of the defendant at any subsequent court proceeding or to otherwise enforce the orders of the court. The appearance bond shall be filed by a duly licensed professional bail agent with the court or with the sheriff who shall provide a copy to the clerk of court.
(2) The court may issue an order sua sponte or upon notice by the clerk or the probation officer that the person has violated the terms of probation, community control, court ordered supervision or other applicable court order to produce the defendant. The court or the clerk of the court shall give the bail agent a minimum of a seventy-two-hour notice to have the defendant before the court. If the bail agent fails to produce the defendant in court or to the sheriff at the time noticed by the court or the clerk of court, the bond shall be forfeited according to the procedures set forth in Section 99-5-25. The defendant’s failure to appear shall be the sole grounds for forfeiture of the appearance bond.
(3) The provisions of Sections 83-39-1 et seq. and 99-5-1 et seq. shall govern the relationship between the parties except where they are inconsistent with this section.
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