Colorado Bail Agents Respond to News Story About Exonerations

• June 02, 2010
• by Collateral Staff
• In the News

A story by 9News in Denver has thrust the state's bail industry into a glaringly bright spotlight and could lead to legal reforms. The story revolves around a 9Wants to Know investigation where an anonymous paralegal who works for bail agents told reporters that he "has filed more than 500 exoneration motions in courts over the last two years, saving the bail agents $400,000 in forfeiture fees." The paralegal compared his activities to a game where he tries to beat the court by bending the rules.

Also in the story, 9News claims that a number of bail agents disclosed that some of their peers immediately "scrub court cases," meaning that they search for mistakes made by courts that can be used to exonerate agents from bail bonds.

The story has Colorado lawmakers examining these allegations because they question why bail agents are being paid to ensure court appearances if some of them don't want to fulfill that responsibility. In a follow-up article to the investigation story, State Senator Morgan Carroll said a meeting of the judicial department later in the year will include an in-depth look at Colorado's bail system. That examination could lead to reforms targeting the bail industry if lawmakers deem it necessary.

On the 9News website, bail agents filled the article's comment board with criticism of the reporter's story. They questioned the validity of the paralegal's claims, said that only a few bad apples are responsible for these actions, and claimed that the reporter failed to paint an accurate representation of professional bail agents.

AboutBail.com sat down with Mike Donovan, director of government affairs for Bail USA, to get his reaction to the article. Donovan has been heavily involved in working to change the government's perception of the bail industry, which is why this disparaging story was of great importance to him. View Donovan's filmed interview here:

Meanwhile, members of AboutBail.com's social networking groups also were busy posting their thoughts on the 9News story. We have shared one of these postings that has been edited for space and content reasons below.

David Platt, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and a member of AboutBail.com's group for bail professionals on LinkedIn, posted this comment about the article:

"I've used motions to seek exoneration from bond forfeitures in the past, as well. But I've always had the defendant either a) back in the custody of the sheriff of jurisdiction or b) right there in court with me, while attempting to move the court. Of course, when the defendant is already back in custody or is in court, there is no risk of 'loss' to the state and my motions have been granted by the courts.

"I'd be completely shamed and embarrassed to have to show up in court and attempt to get off a bond by saying it would put me out of business if the forfeiture, indeed, has to be paid ... all because I failed to do my job correctly in the first place. "In my humble opinion, the problem lies not with the court's own tool ... the motion. I believe the problem lies in the lap of all the 'premium collectors' in the Denver metro area. The business has become such a cut-throat, stab-your-colleague-in-the-back rat race that many have lost their way and this mess is the result. If bondsmen and women cared about their long-term growth in this business first, we would not be seeing them undercut, discount and require no collateral and no QUALIFIED co-signers to protect the bond and assist in producing the defendant in court ... then they wouldn't need to be filing these (again, in my humble opinion) sad, desperate and frivolous motions to try to save their own hind ends.

"The court's tool - the motion - is a useful tool to us and there are appropriate reasons why (and when) it should be utilized. The courts DO make mistakes that DO put our money needlessly at risk. What D. Boyd and other are doing is going to make it much more difficult for our legitimate motions to be successful. His cavalier attitude about the whole issue is... disturbing to say the least."

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