1.   The Citizens' Right-to-Know Act/ Pretrial Release

The act requires each pretrial release program to

Prepare a register displaying information relevant to

the defendants released through such a program.

It requires that a copy ofthe register be located at

the office of the clerk of the   circuit court in the

county where the program is located and readily

accessible to the public.  Provides Requirements

for the form of bail or bond required for release

from detention, etc. 

EFFECTIVE DATE:   07/01/2008

For more information click here.

2.  The Bureau of Justice Report

 A Special Report titled “Pre-Trial Release of Felony
Defendants in State Courts (State Courts Processing
Statistics 1990 – 2004)” has just been released.  This
report is positive towards the bail industry and you are
encouraged to read it.

Click here

3. Federal Bail Information

On May 10, 2007 Representative Robert Wexler [FL-19]
sponsored H.R. 2286, a bill to amend Title 18, United
States Code, and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
with respect to bail bond forfeitures.  For almost 20 years
federal judges have used the bail bonds as performance
bonds and the purpose of this bill is to make federal bail
bonds only appearance bonds once more.

On December 18, 2007 Senator Joseph Biden (D-DEL)
introduced the bill on the floor of the Senate as S. 2495.

Click here to read the press release from Senator Biden’s office.

4. The 2007 Bail Bond Fairness Act

The Bail Bond Fairness Act was originally introduced in 1997

during the 105th Congress. Bail Agents had virtually been eliminated

from writing bonds in Federal Court after the Bail Reform Act of 1984

was deemed to mean that a bail bond was responsible for performance

under federal rules of procedure 46(e)(1) by the Vaccaro decision.

Bail Bond Fairness Act, S. 2495, Introduced in the U.S. Senate

2007 Bail Bond Fairness Act - H.R. 2286, Passed in 110 Congress

An Overview of the Bail Bond Fairness Act

This information courtesy of PBUS and FSAA