77-20b-101 - Entry of nonappearance -- Notice to surety -- Release of surety on failure of timely notice.
77-20b-101. Entry of nonappearance -- Notice to surety -- Release of surety onfailure of timely notice.
(1) If a defendant who has posted bail fails to appear before the appropriate court whenrequired and the court chooses to order forfeiture of the bail, the court shall issue a bench warrantthat includes the original case number. The court shall also direct that the surety be given noticeof the nonappearance. The clerk of the court shall:
(a) mail notice of nonappearance by certified mail, return receipt requested, within 30days to the address of the surety or its agent as listed on the bond;
(b) notify the surety or its agent as listed on the bond of the name, address, telephonenumber, and fax number of the prosecutor;
(c) deliver a copy of the notice sent under Subsection (1)(a) to the prosecutor's office atthe same time notice is sent under Subsection (1)(a); and
(d) ensure that the name, address, and telephone number of the surety or its agent aslisted on the bond is stated on the bench warrant.
(2) The prosecutor may mail notice of nonappearance by certified mail, return receiptrequested, to the address of the surety or its agent as listed on the bond within 37 days after thedate of the defendant's failure to appear.
(3) If notice of nonappearance is not mailed to a surety or its agent as listed on the bond,other than the defendant, in accordance with Subsection (1) or (2), the surety is relieved offurther obligation under the bond if the surety's current name and address or the current name andaddress of the surety's agent are on the bail bond in the court's file.
(4) (a) (i) If a defendant appears in court within seven days after a missed, scheduledcourt appearance, the court may reinstate the bond without further notice to the bond company.
(ii) If the defendant, while in custody, appears on the case for which the bond wasposted, the court may not reinstate the bond without the consent of the bond company.
(b) If a defendant fails to appear within seven days after a scheduled court appearance,the court may not reinstate the bond without the consent of the surety.
(c) If the defendant is arrested and booked into a county jail booking facility pursuant toa warrant for failure to appear on the original charges, the surety may file a motion with the courtto exonerate the bond. The surety shall deliver a copy of the motion to the prosecutor.
(d) Unless the court makes a finding of good cause why the bond should not beexonerated, it shall exonerate the bond if:
(i) the surety has delivered the defendant to the county jail booking facility in the countywhere the original charge is pending;
(ii) the defendant has been released on a bond secured from a subsequent surety for theoriginal charge and the failure to appear;
(iii) after an arrest, the defendant has escaped from jail or has been released on thedefendant's own recognizance, pursuant to a pretrial release, under a court order regulating jailcapacity, or by a sheriff's release under Section 17-22-5.5;
(iv) the surety has transported or agreed to pay for the transportation of the defendantfrom a location outside of the county back to the county where the original charge is pending,and the payment is in an amount equal to government transportation expenses listed in Section76-3-201; or
(v) the surety demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that:
(A) at the time the surety issued the bond, it had made reasonable efforts to determine
that the defendant was legally present in the United States;
(B) a reasonable person would have concluded, based on the surety's determination, thatthe defendant was legally present in the United States; and
(C) the surety has failed to bring the defendant before the court because the defendant isin federal custody or has been deported.
(e) Under circumstances not otherwise provided for in this section, the court mayexonerate the bond if it finds that the prosecutor has been given reasonable notice of a surety'smotion and there is good cause for the bond to be exonerated.
(f) If a surety's bond has been exonerated under this section and the surety remains liablefor the cost of transportation of the defendant, the surety may take custody of the defendant forthe purpose of transporting the defendant to the jurisdiction where the charge is pending.
Amended by Chapter 332, 2006 General Session