H. B. 2118
(By Delegate Azinger)
[Introduced February 9, 2005; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §62-1C-12 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to forfeiture of bail bond for
failure of a defendant to appear in court; and providing for
reimbursement to the bail bondsman for the amount of the
forfeited bond if the bail bondsman later returns the bonded
person to the custody of court.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §62-1C-12
of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1C. BAIL.
§62-1C-12. Same -- Exoneration; return of deposit.
(a) When the condition of the bond has been satisfied or the
forfeiture thereof has been set aside or remitted, the court or
justice magistrate shall exonerate the surety and release any bail
and, if the bail be in a form other than a recognizance, the deposit shall be returned to the person who made the same. The
surety may be exonerated by a deposit of cash in the amount of the
bail or by a timely surrender of the defendant into custody.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, when a bail bondsman, as defined in article ten, chapter
fifty-one of this code, has a surety bond forfeited because of the
failure of a defendant to appear before a court or magistrate, that
bail bondsman shall be reimbursed the full amount of the bond
forfeiture if the bail bondsman later returns the defendant to the
custody of the court or magistrate, regardless of the intervening
time period which has elapsed since the forfeiture of the bond.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that where a
bail bondsman has a surety bond forfeited because of a defendant's
failure to appear in court, the bail bondsman shall be reimbursed
that amount if the bail bondsman later returns the person to the
custody of the court.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.