1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to criminal procedure; providing for criminal 
  1.3             bail bond forfeitures and procedures; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 629.53; 629.63; 
  1.5             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 629. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 629.53, is 
  1.9   amended to read: 
  1.10     629.53 [PROVIDING RELEASE ON BAIL; COMMITMENT.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [BAIL; RELEASE.] A person charged with a 
  1.12  criminal offense may be released with or without bail in 
  1.13  accordance with rule 6.02 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure.  
  1.14     Subd. 2.  [REQUIRING CASH BONDS OF NO LESS THAN 20 
  1.15  PERCENT.] Notwithstanding any other law or rule, when the judge 
  1.16  sets monetary conditions for release of a person charged with an 
  1.17  offense, the requirements must include: 
  1.18     (1) execution of an appearance bond in an amount set by the 
  1.19  court with sufficient sureties; or 
  1.20     (2) execution of an unsecured bond accompanied by the 
  1.21  deposit of cash equal to no less than 20 percent of the bond's 
  1.22  face amount. 
  1.23     Subd. 3.  [PROHIBITING JUDICIAL SURETIES.] Absolutely no 
  1.24  judge, court, or judicial officer may act as surety for the 
  1.25  release of a person charged with an offense. 
  1.26     Subd. 4.  [MONEY BAIL.] Money bail is the property of the 
  2.1   accused, whether deposited by that person or by a third person 
  2.2   on the accused's behalf.  When money bail is accepted by a 
  2.3   judge, that judge shall order it to be deposited with the court 
  2.4   administrator.  The court administrator shall retain it until 
  2.5   the final disposition of the case and the final order of the 
  2.6   court disposing of the case.  Upon release, the amount released 
  2.7   must be paid to the accused personally depositing party or upon 
  2.8   that person's written order.  In case of conviction, the judge 
  2.9   may order the money bail deposit to be applied to any fine or 
  2.10  restitution imposed on the defendant by the court and, if the 
  2.11  fine or restitution is less than the deposit, order the balance 
  2.12  to be paid to the defendant depositing party.  Money bail 
  2.13  deposited with the court or any officer of it is exempt from 
  2.14  garnishment or levy under attachment or execution. 
  2.15     Sec. 2.  [629.581] [FORFEITURE.] 
  2.16     Subdivision 1.  [OPEN COURT DECLARATION.] A judge shall in 
  2.17  open court declare forfeited the undertaking of bail or the 
  2.18  money deposited as bail, only when a defendant fails to appear. 
  2.19     Subd. 2.  [NOTICE.] (a) The court administrator shall 
  2.20  immediately notify the surety, and its writing agent, who 
  2.21  appears on the 702 appearance form of the forfeiture, by 
  2.22  certified mail.  The administrator shall also execute a 
  2.23  certificate in the court's file.  If the notice of forfeiture is 
  2.24  required to be mailed pursuant to this section, the 180-day 
  2.25  period provided for in this section shall be extended by a 
  2.26  period of five days to allow for the mailing. 
  2.27     (b) If the surety is an authorized corporate surety, and if 
  2.28  the bond plainly displays the mailing address of the corporate 
  2.29  surety and the bail agent, then notice of the forfeiture shall 
  2.30  be mailed to the surety at the address and to the bail agent, 
  2.31  and mailing alone to the surety or the bail agent does not 
  2.32  constitute compliance with this section. 
  2.33     (c) The surety and its agent shall be released of all 
  2.34  obligations under the appearance bond if any of the following 
  2.35  conditions apply: 
  2.36     (1) the court administrator fails to send by certified mail 
  3.1   the notice of forfeiture in accordance with this section 
  3.2   immediately within the entry of the forfeiture and not exceeding 
  3.3   24 hours; 
  3.4      (2) the administrator fails to send by certified mail the 
  3.5   notice of the forfeiture to the surety and agent at the address 
  3.6   printed on the bond; or 
  3.7      (3) the administrator fails to mail a copy of the notice of 
  3.8   the forfeiture to the bail agent at the address shown on the 
  3.9   bond. 
  3.10     Subd. 3.  [180-DAY PERIOD.] (a) If the defendant appears 
  3.11  either voluntarily or in custody in the court within 180 days of 
  3.12  the date of forfeiture or within 180 days of the date of mailing 
  3.13  of the notice if the notice is required under subdivision 2, 
  3.14  paragraph (b), the court shall direct the order of forfeiture to 
  3.15  be vacated and the bond exonerated.  If the court fails to act, 
  3.16  then the surety's obligations under the bond shall be 
  3.17  immediately vacated and the bond, without motion to the court 
  3.18  and penalty, shall be exonerated and immediately discharged. 
  3.19     (b) If the defendant is outside the jurisdiction where the 
  3.20  case is located and is surrendered or in custody or is arrested 
  3.21  in the underlying case or for additional charges and within the 
  3.22  180-day period, the court shall vacate the forfeiture and 
  3.23  exonerate the bail upon the affidavit of the surety or its 
  3.24  agents as it may appear on the 702 form. 
  3.25     Subd. 4.  [VACATE FORFEITURE WHEN IN CUSTODY BEYOND COURT 
  3.26  JURISDICTION.] In all cases where a defendant is in custody 
  3.27  beyond the jurisdiction of the court that ordered the bail 
  3.28  forfeited, and the prosecuting agency elects not to seek 
  3.29  extradition after being informed of the location of the 
  3.30  defendant, the court shall vacate the forfeiture and exonerate 
  3.31  the bond. 
  3.32     Subd. 5.  [VACATE FORFEITURE UNDER CERTAIN 
  3.33  CIRCUMSTANCES.] The court shall vacate the forfeiture and 
  3.34  exonerate the bond in all cases of forfeiture where a defendant 
  3.35  is not in custody and is beyond the jurisdiction of court if the 
  3.36  defendant: 
  4.1      (1) is temporarily detained by the bail agent or its 
  4.2   assigned representatives in the presence of a local law 
  4.3   enforcement officer of the jurisdiction in which the defendant 
  4.4   is located and in custody; 
  4.5      (2) is positively identified by the law enforcement officer 
  4.6   as the defendant in an affidavit signed under penalty or 
  4.7   perjury; and 
  4.8      (3) the prosecuting attorney elects not to seek extradition 
  4.9   after being informed of the location of the defendant. 
  4.10     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 629.63, is 
  4.11  amended to read: 
  4.12     629.63 [CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH SURETY MAY ARREST 
  4.13  DEFENDANT.] 
  4.14     If A surety believes that a can revoke and discharge a bond 
  4.15  upon that defendant for whom the surety is acting as bonding 
  4.16  agent if the surety believes the defendant is (1) about to flee, 
  4.17  (2) will not appear as required by the defendant's recognizance, 
  4.18  or (3) will otherwise not perform the conditions of the 
  4.19  recognizance,.  The surety may arrest upon affidavit to the 
  4.20  sheriff and without a warrant from the court or have another 
  4.21  person or the sheriff arrest the defendant, at the surety's 
  4.22  direction, arrest and surrender the defendant to the sheriff. 
  4.23     If the surety or another person at the surety's direction 
  4.24  arrests the defendant, the surety or the other person shall take 
  4.25  the defendant before the judge before whom the defendant was 
  4.26  required to appear and surrender the defendant to that judge. 
  4.27     If the surety wants the sheriff to arrest the defendant, 
  4.28  the surety shall deliver a certified copy of the recognizance 
  4.29  under which the defendant is held to the sheriff, with a 
  4.30  direction endorsed on the recognizance requiring the sheriff to 
  4.31  arrest the defendant and bring the defendant before the 
  4.32  appropriate judge. 
  4.33     Upon receiving a certified copy of the recognizance and 
  4.34  payment of the sheriff's fees, the sheriff shall arrest the 
  4.35  defendant and bring the defendant before the judge.  
  4.36     Before A surety who has arrested a defendant who has 
  5.1   violated the conditions of release may personally without court 
  5.2   order surrender the defendant to the appropriate judge, the 
  5.3   surety shall notify the sheriff.  If the defendant at the 
  5.4   hearing before the judge is unable to post increased bail or 
  5.5   meet alternative conditions of release in accordance with Rule 
  5.6   6.03 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, the sheriff or a deputy 
  5.7   shall take the defendant into custody.