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Attention all you would be shoplifters!  California just released its greatest hits with the passing of Prop. 47, just in time for the holidays. Much to the chagrin of retailers throughout California, this new law allows someone to shoplift items with values up to $950 and still avoid being charged with a felony.  If someone can get an LG-7.3 Ultralarge-Capacity Steam Electric Dryer, an $849 value, passed Best Buy’s security, it’s theirs.   If they happened to get caught, no worries, it’s only a misdemeanor as opposed to a felony which went the way of last year’s Ferby.  In most cases the offender will not be taken to jail, only handed a citation and a notice to appear.  To further illustrate the new law, a person can walk in to an…

Tuesday night yielded little to smile about if you’re of Democratic persuasion as Republican candidates had their way in most of the races across the country.  That said, for many states the candidates were not the only issue on the ballot. New Jersey voters approved an amendment to that state’s constitution allowing judges to hold serious criminal offenders in jail without bail, pending trial.  Public Question 1 (SCR 128) will also make it easier for criminal offenders to be released on their own recognizance if they claim to be indigent.  These changes go into effect January 2017. On the west coast, Californians voted in favor of Prop 47 which will reduce certain drug charges and theft crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, ostensibly to control crowding in the local county jails,…

What profession can survive without a new generation of young people seeking an opportunity to etch out a career and strive  for prosperity in a chosen field?  Commercial bail is no exception.  Trained, experienced and enthusiastic young people are critical to our survival. Earlier this week I traveled to Waco, Texas to attend a hearing before the McLennan County Bail Bond Board where a young Chase Chapman was seeking approval of his first corporate surety license appointment, the application was approved marking a pivotal moment in Chase’ future in bail.    Chase is now officially a second generation bondsman.  He’s been around bail bonds all his life shadowing his father Terry in his bonding office and at the county jail.  Documented experience is prerequisite to obtaining a bail license in Texas…

Did you hear about the Pennsylvania bail agent arrested for using forged powers of attorney to post several million in bonds? He’s currently sitting in the county prison with bail set at $250,000. Ironically, this guy was arrested for obtaining the release of criminal offenders using forged bonds and the court’s response is to set a phony bail amount of $250,000 of which they will require the defendant to post only 10% cash to obtain release from custody pending trial. So, unlike the forged bonds the bail agent had been posting that had zero value, the court will release him on a 10% bond which is 90% bogus. For the past year or so some Minnesota judges have been complaining about bail agents permitting clients to make payments on premium,…

My wife Marcia and I attended a fundraiser last evening called “A Night with the Network”.  The event’s purpose was to raise money for the Domestic Violence Network whose goal is to end domestic violence in Indiana. The venue for this event was the Indianapolis Art Center in mid-town Indianapolis.  A great setting to hold a fundraiser that included a silent auction, wine tasting and cigar bar.  In the end a lot money was raised for a very worthy cause.   The event program states that one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime and 1.3 million are victims of physical assault each year. These are startling numbers.   At one point DVN Executive Director asked those in the audience to raise their hand if they had…

It’s been a tough few weeks for the National Football League and Commissioner Roger Goodell.  The video tapes of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée in a casino elevator have brought national awareness to the crime of domestic violence. Until now the NFL’s policy of a soft handed disciplinarian approach has sufficiently mollified the fans, those days are gone.  The videos changed everything as seeing something is different than hearing about it.  It’s vivid, it’s personal and it’s real. According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report Nonfatal Domestic Violence, 2003-2012 about one in five violent crimes with a victim was a case of domestic violence.   Knowing this, why then are so many judges and prosecutors routinely releasing offenders of domestic violence on low bonds or no bonds?  If a video…

Two weeks ago I was in Trenton, New Jersey for a meeting of bail agents and representatives of the American Bail Coalition.  At issue was the passing of S946 which created a statewide pretrial release system.  Governor Christie was successful in pushing through this new bureaucracy that will cost New Jersey taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the next ten years. While having lunch with a bail agent from Bakersfield, California last week I learned SB 210 was in trouble (trouble being a good thing in this scenario).  Until a few weeks ago SB 210, which favored risk assessment tools and releasing defendants on their own recognizance was sailing through the California General Assembly after having passed out of the Senate.  Upon my return to Indianapolis, I received an…

A few weeks back I reported to you about an Ohio Supreme Court decision that told the Ohio lower courts they cannot prohibit a criminal defendant from purchasing a bail bond to secure their release.  The courts could not limit the bond options to 10% cash only. On the west coast another high court took issue with the lower courts limiting the release options for offenders.   The Washington State Supreme Court issued a ruling July 31, saying the lower courts could not prohibit use of bail bonds.   Washington courts can no longer deny a defendant the right to use a third party guarantor, a sufficient solvent surety, to post bail use a cash alternative. Interestingly, deposit bail only surfaced in Washington State a few years ago.  I specifically recall attending…

While perusing Facebook updates yesterday I came across a post by Texas Attorney and bail expert Ken Good.  Ken had written about his recent trip to Dallas to drop off his daughter Laurel to attend Camp Esperanza.  Laurel is a young warrior battling cancer and a regular this summer camp for kids battling cancer.  Ken wrote about the emotional reunions these kids experience each year when meeting new friends and remembering those kids who lost their personal battles with cancer.  Kids being treated for cancer at Children's Medical Center of Dallas are invited to attend Camp Esperanza.  The anticipation alone helps detract them from their troubles, while camp week is a welcome relief from stress and worry.  They simply don't want to leave.   This year's Camp Esperanza was funded in…

When I was much younger I would do something stupid in front of my Dad and he would say, “Son, common sense is a virtue.” I took those words to heart and I try to apply common sense at all times and, to my credit, my failure rate has been reduced considerably through the years. The Ohio Supreme Court applied some common sense to a case involving a lower court, the Licking County Municipal Court, and the Court of Commons Pleas, when it released a Slip Opinion this week that upheld a part of that state’s constitution that reads “all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties”. Woody Fox, owner of Woody’s Bail Bonds of Columbus, Ohio, is hailed as a hero today by me and every bail agent in…