Chapter 415
2017 -- H 5206
Enacted 10/05/2017

A N   A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- BAIL AND RECOGNIZANCE

Introduced By: Representatives Craven, Knight, and McEntee
Date Introduced: January 26, 2017

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Sections 12-13-10, 12-13-16 and 12-13-16.1 of the General Laws in
Chapter 12-13 entitled "Bail and Recognizance" are hereby amended to read as follows:
     12-13-10. Deposit of money in lieu of bail. -- Any person who is held in custody or
committed upon a criminal charge, if entitled to be released on bail, may at any time, instead of
giving surety or sureties, in the discretion of the court, give before the court in which he or she is
held to appear his or her personal recognizance to appear and do as ordered by the court, and shall
be allowed to deposit, either individually or by another on his or her behalf, with the court in
money ten percent (10%) of the amount of bail which he or she is ordered to furnish, and the
justice or clerk of the court shall give him or her a certificate, and upon delivery of the certificate
to the officer in whose custody he or she is shall be released from custody, and the money shall be
deposited in the registry of the court before which the person shall be recognized to appear.
Consistent with Article 1, § 9 of the Rhode Island Constitution, the giving of surety, or in the
alternative the deposit with the court of ten percent (10%) of the amount of bail set, shall be the
sole monetary conditions of the release on bail, except as set forth herein. No court shall require
the deposit of cash as the sole monetary condition of the release on bail, except in those cases
where the defendant owes court-imposed restitution. Upon the default of the defendant, the court
before which he or she is recognized to appear may, at any time thereafter, order the money
deposited in the registry of the court or in the discretion of the court the entire amount of the bail
set to be forfeited, subject to the provisions of §§12-13-16, 12-13-16.1 and 12-13-16.2, and the
money shall be paid to the general treasurer. If money has been deposited and the defendant at
any time before forfeiture shall appear before the court to which he or she was recognized to
appear, and shall surrender himself or herself, or shall recognize before the court with sufficient
surety or sureties, in such an amount, to appear and do as the court may order, or be in any
manner legally discharged, then the court shall order the return of the deposit to the defendant. If
the money remains on deposit at the time of a judgment for the payment of a fine and costs,
restitution, or any other assessment issued by the court, the clerk must apply the money in
satisfaction of the judgment, and after satisfying the fine and costs, restitution, or any other
assessment must refund the surplus, if any, to the defendant or to the individual who posted the
money on behalf of the defendant, as the case may be.
     12-13-16. Process on default of recognizance. -- (a) Whenever any person under
recognizance shall fail to perform the condition of his or her recognizance, or failed to appear as
required by the terms and conditions of their his or her bail or recognizance, the default shall be
recorded and process shall be issued against the persons bound in the recognizance, or those of
them as the attorney general shall direct.
     (b) No process for forfeiture of bail nor any petition for forfeiture of bail may be filed by
the attorney general, or designee, or otherwise initiated prior to the expiration of forty-five (45)
days after any warrant issued by any court has been entered into the court's database, the database
of the bureau of criminal identification (BCI) for the state of Rhode Island, and the database for
the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
     12-13-16.1. Forfeiture of bail. -- (a) In any criminal case, whenever, after a hearing, it
has been shown to the satisfaction of the court that the defendant has left the jurisdiction of the
court or has failed to appear as required or has failed to perform the condition of his or her
recognizance, the court shall order that the bail and/or any security for bail be forfeited.
     (b) Any person who has had bail posted with the assistance of a licensed bondsperson,
and who is subsequently arrested on a bench warrant and brought before the court, or who fails to
appear and is subsequently brought before the court without the intervention of or through a
licensed bondsperson, shall not be released by the court on the same bail unless and until the
licensed bondsperson who posted the original bail has been notified and been provided an
opportunity to be heard regarding the licensed bondsperson's willingness to continue as surety for
the defendant/bailee. The court may, however, release the defendant within twenty-four (24)
hours if the licensed bondsperson cannot be located or otherwise fails to appear to address the
court relative to the original bail.
     SECTION 2. Chapter 12-13 of the General Laws entitled "Bail and Recognizance" is
hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
     12-13-16.2. Forfeiture of bail -- Licensed bondsperson. -- (a) In any criminal case,
whenever a forfeiture of bail has been ordered pursuant to §12-13-16.1 and where the bail and/or
security for bail has been posted by a licensed bondsperson registered with the court, the court
shall only order an amount to be forfeited up to, but not more than, ten percent (10%) of the
original bail set and pledged as surety.
     (b) Subsequent to any forfeiture of bail pursuant to §12-13-16.2(a)subsection (a) of this
section, and prior to the forfeiture of further surety pledged by a licensed bondsperson provided
herein, the court shall:
     (1) Provide the licensed bondsperson a period of time equal to six (6) months to return
the fugitive to the court before further pledged surety shall be forfeited. Before ordering further
forfeiture, the court shall conduct a hearing and provide the licensed bondsperson an opportunity
to demonstrate all reasonable actions the bondperson took to locate, apprehend, and return the
fugitive to the court. The court shall consider the due diligence of the licensed bondsperson in
determining how much, if any, of the remaining amount of surety the bondsperson shall be
ordered to forfeit for the failure or inability to locate, apprehend, and return the fugitive to the
court. The court at that time may provide the licensed bondsperson with additional time in which
to locate and return the fugitive.
     (2) In the event that the licensed bondsperson fails or is unable to locate and return the
fugitive, the court may order an amount to be forfeited up to, but not more than, ten percent
(10%) of the original bail set and pledged as surety, plus the reasonable expenses incurred by the
state in attempting to locate and apprehend the fugitive; and provided;, further, that if the fugitive
is found and presented before the court within six (6) months of the issuance of the warrant, there
shall be no forfeiture.
     (3) The bondsperson shall be responsible to pay all fees and costs associated with the
entry of any warrant into the BCI or the NCIC prior to its entry into either database as required in
§12-13-16(b). Upon request of the bondsperson, the clerk of the court shall provide a certified
copy of the arrest warrant to the bondsperson without charge to insure the bondsperson's ability to
locate, apprehend, and return the fugitive from outside the state of Rhode Island.
     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC001008
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