1. Applicable Statutes

Idaho Code Title 8: Provisional Remedies in Civil Actions: Chapter 1: Bail and Arrest

Idaho Code Title 19: Criminal Procedure: Chapter 29: Bail

Idaho Code Title 41: insurance: Chapter 10: Producer Licensing

2. Licensing Requirements [IC 8-117] and [IC 19-2910]

• A "Bail agent" means a licensed producer in the line of surety insurance that is authorized by an insurer to execute or countersign undertakings of bail in connection with judicial proceedings. [IC 41-1038]
• A bail agent must be licensed as a licensed as a producer in the line of surety insurance. [IC 41-1039]
• In order to be licensed as a producer, the applicant must: [IC 41-1007]
• Be at least eighteen (18) years of age;
• Submit to fingerprinting
• Have not committed any act that is a ground for denial, suspension or revocation of the license as set forth in title 41, Idaho Code;
• Pay the fees prescribed by the director
• Successfully pass the examinations for the lines of authority for which the applicant has applied.
• A producer acting as a bail agent must also post a $15,000 bond executed by an authorized surety, to be held in trust by the Department of Insurance. [IC 41-1040]
• In addition to the records set forth in section 41-1036, Idaho Code, a bail agent shall also maintain complete records pertaining to any collateral received and any charges collected for any bail bond transaction for at least five (5) years after the liability of the surety has been terminated.

3. Notice of Forfeiture [IC 19-2927]

The clerk shall mail written notice within five (5) days of the forfeiture for failure to appear to the last known address of the person posting the undertaking of bail. A failure to give timely notice shall exonerate the bail or undertaking.

4. Forfeiture to Judgment: Allotted Time between Forfeiture Declaration and Payment Due Date

• If at any time within 90 days after an entry of forfeiture, the defendant appears and satisfactorily excuses his neglect, the court shall direct the forfeiture to be exonerated. [IC 19-2927]
• Any time after 90 days from the entry of forfeiture, the prosecuting attorney may proceed by action in the name of the county, against the bail upon their undertaking. [IC 19-2928]
• If the bail agent neglects or refuses to pay the judgment within 10 days after they are finally charged, an action may be commenced against such bail for the amount of the original judgment. [IC 8-113]

5. Forfeiture Defenses [IC 8-114]

A bail agent is exonerated by the death of the defendant or his imprisonment in the state prison, or by his legal discharge from the obligation to render himself amenable to the process.

6. Remission [IC 19-2927]

If within 90 days of the date of forfeiture, a person, other than the defendant, who has provided bail for the defendant, surrenders the defendant to any Idaho peace officer, the undertaking of bail or deposits are thereby exonerated.

7. Bail Agent's Arrest Authority [IC 19-2925]

For the purpose of surrendering the defendant, the bail, at any time before they are finally discharged, and at any place within the state, may themselves arrest him, or by a written authority endorsed on a certified copy of the undertaking, may empower any person of suitable age and discretion to do so.

At any time before judgment or within 10 days thereafter, the bail may surrender the defendant in their exoneration, or he may surrender himself to the sheriff of the county where he was arrested.

8. Other Noteworthy Provisions

A bail agent shall immediately return in full all premium and collateral associated with a bail transaction if the bail agent surrenders the defendant before the date required without good cause. [IC 41-1044(1)]

A bail agent has good cause for the early surrender of a defendant if: [IC 41-1044 (2)]

• the defendant has changed addresses without notifying the bail agent,
• engaged in self-concealment,
• left the jurisdiction of the court without permission of the bail agent or the court,
• materially breached the terms of the bail contract, or
• has otherwise acted in a manner that materially increases the risk of loss assumed by the bail agent or surety.

A failure to pay the premium when due shall constitute good cause only if at the time of the bail transaction the bail agent obtains the payor's signature on a written statement clearly stating the amount of premium due, the due date, and that the failure to pay will result in early surrender.

Before surrendering a defendant early for good cause, a bail agent shall prepare a signed and dated written statement fully describing the facts upon which the agent relied in determining that good cause exists for the early surrender of the defendant. A bail agent who surrenders a defendant early for good cause shall not be entitled to seek recovery of any unpaid premium. [IC 41-1044 (3)]

9. Noteworthy Appellate Decisions

State v. Abracadabra Bail Bonds , 131 Idaho 113, 952 P.2d 1249 ( Idaho App. 1998).

Bonding company appealed from orders of the District Court, Canyon County , which denied motion for exoneration of bail bond, held company in contempt for failure to pay forfeited bond and revoked its privilege to business in district, and sanctioned its attorney for filing repetitive motions. The Court of Appeals held that: (1) magistrate did not abuse his discretion in failing to forfeit bond on defendant's first nonappearance when presented with sufficient excuse for nonappearance; (2) five-day period for giving notice to surety did not begin to run until bond was subsequently forfeited when defendant failed to appear for arraignment on superseding indictment; (3) district court was without authority to enforce payment of bond forfeiture under penalty of contempt; (4) bonding company's contractual liability to pay forfeited bond was enforceable only through separate civil proceeding; and (5) bonding company was not aggrieved party entitled to appeal sanctions imposed upon its attorney. Affirmed in part; reversed in part.

State v. Rocha , 131 Idaho 113, 952 P. 2d 1249 (Idaho Ct. App. 1998)

Bail bondsman contractual obligation to pay forfeited bond was a civil liability enforceable by the prosecuting attorney in a separate civil action, and district court was without authority to enforce payment of the bond forfeiture under the penalty of contempt.

State v. Rupp , 123 Idaho 1, 843 P.2d 151 (1992)

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ruling that defendant's alleged fraud in obtaining an appellate bail bond was not a ground for setting aside the forfeiture of the bond and denying bondsman's motion to exonerate the bond.

State v. Fry , 128 Idaho 50, 910 P.2d 164 (Idaho Ct. App. 1994)

While it has long been held in Idaho that matters such as the fixing of bail and the release from custody are within the discretion of the court, the forfeiture of a bond or the setting aside of such a forfeiture are also discretionary decisions within the realm of the district court. In deciding how much, if any, of the bond to forfeit, when defendant fails to appear before the court, the court should also consider: (1) the willfulness of the defendant's violation of bail conditions; (2) the surety's participation in locating and apprehending the defendant; (3) the costs, inconvenience, and prejudice suffered by the state as a result of the violation; (4) any intangible costs; (5) the public's interest in ensuring a defendant's appearance; and (6) any mitigating factors. The incarceration of a defendant in another jurisdiction, which prevented him from appearing before the court, is only one fact to be considered by the district court in making its discretionary decision whether to forfeit the bond; the court should also consider whether the incarceration arises from a new crime committed while the defendant was free on bond or from an offense that preceded his arrest.

10. Bounty Hunter Provisions

Idaho does not have specific provisions for bounty hunters.