Rhode Island Bail Law:

Applicable Statutes

A. MICHIE’S RHODE ISLAND COURT RULES ANNOTATED SUPERIOR COURT-SUPERIOR COURT RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE X. GENERAL PROVISIONS Rule 46. Release on bail.

B. MICHIE’S RHODE ISLAND COURT RULES ANNOTATED SUPERIOR COURT- SUPERIOR COURT RULES GOVERNING PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN Rules 1 – 13.

Licensing Requirements for Agents

A. MICHIE’S RHODE ISLAND COURT RULES ANNOTATED SUPERIOR COURT- SUPERIOR COURT RULES GOVERNING PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN Rule 1. Registration of professional bondsmen required — Revocation of registration.

• No person proposing to become bail or surety in a felony case for hire or reward, either received or to be received, shall be accepted as such unless he or she shall have been approved and registered as a professional bondsman by the presiding justice or his or her designee. Such approval and registration may be revoked at any time by such court or justice thereof, and shall be revoked in case such a bondsman fails for one hundred twenty (120) days after the issuance of process under 12-13-16 to satisfy in full the recognizance to which he or she is bound, or such amount of the original recognizance as determined in the discretion of the court, in accordance with 12-13-10.

B. Rule 2. Person defined.

• For purposes of these rules, a person means a natural person.

C. Rule 3. Application for registration as professional bondsman.

• Any person desirous of being approved and registered as a professional bondsman shall file an application therefor under oath and in duplicate original form with the presiding justice or his or her designee which application shall contain the following information as to each parcel of real estate which the applicant proposes to pledge as bondsman:

a. The city or town in which the real estate is located;
b. The book and page numbers at which the real estate is recorded by the office of land records of the city or town;
c. The person or persons in whose name the real estate is held;
d. The nature of such holding (e.g. in fee simple, joint tenancy, in trust, as a life tenant, etc.);
e. The recorded lot number and the name of the recorded plat together with the number of the plat card on which the lot is designated;
f. The assessors’ plat and lot numbers;
g. The street address if the real estate is also identified in such manner;
h. The assessed valuation;
i. The fair market value;
j. The name and address of any mortgagee, lienor, pledgee or other encumbrancer and the amount due each such creditor;
k. Where title to the parcel is held as a result of a tax sale, whether the equity of redemption has been foreclosed;
l. As to each defendant for whom the parcel has been previously pledged, the name of the defendant, the court in which the case is pending, the court number of the case, whether the crime charged is a felony or a misdemeanor and the amount of the bail.

D. Rule 5. Length of registration.

• The registration of a professional bondsman by the Presiding Justice shall be valid for the period of one (1) year unless sooner revoked by a justice of the Superior Court.

E. Rule 9. Renewal of registration.

• Any person registered as a professional bondsman may apply for a renewal of his or her registration not later than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of his or her registration by filing an application in accordance with Rule 3 hereof.

F. Other relevant licensing rules include:

Rule 4. Appraisal of real estate in application.
Rule 6. Notification of conveyance of real estate in application.
Rule 7. Registration of additional real estate as security.
Rule 8. Limit on bondsman’s pledges for bail.
Rule 10. Registry of professional bondsmen — Public record.

Notice of Forfeiture

A. MICHIE’S RHODE ISLAND COURT RULES ANNOTATED SUPERIOR COURT SUPERIOR COURT RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE X. GENERAL PROVISIONS Rule 46. Release on bail.

(g) Forfeiture.

(1) Declaration. If there is a breach of condition of a recognizance, the court upon motion of the attorney for the State shall declare a forfeiture of the bail.

(3) Enforcement. When a forfeiture has not been set aside, the court shall on motion enter a judgment of default and execution may issue thereon. By entering into a recognizance the obligors submit to the jurisdiction of the court and irrevocably appoint the clerk of the court as their agent upon whom any papers affecting their liability may be served. Their liability may be enforced on motion without the necessity of an independent action. The motion and such notice of the motion as the court prescribes may be served on the clerk of the court, who shall forthwith mail copies to the obligors to their last known addresses.

Allotted Time between Forfeiture Declaration and Payment Due Date

No additional provisions are given in the Rhode Island statutes regarding forfeiture procedures other than those above in Rule 46.

Forfeiture Defenses

A. MICHIE’S RHODE ISLAND COURT RULES ANNOTATED SUPERIOR COURT SUPERIOR COURT RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE X. GENERAL PROVISIONS Rule 46. Release on bail.

(g) Forfeiture.

(5) Settlement. The Attorney General may settle with any obligor liable upon a forfeited recognizance upon such terms and in such manner as he or she shall deem most advantageous to the interest of the State.

(h) Exoneration. When the condition of the recognizance bond has been satisfied or the forfeiture thereof has been set aside or remitted or settled, the court shall exonerate the obligors and release any bail. A surety may be exonerated by a deposit of cash in the amount of the bond or by a timely surrender of the defendant into custody.

Remission

A. MICHIE’S RHODE ISLAND COURT RULES ANNOTATED SUPERIOR COURTSUPERIOR COURT RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE X. GENERAL PROVISIONS Rule 46. Release on bail.

(g) Forfeiture.

(4) Remission. After entry of such judgment, the court may remit it in whole or in part under the conditions applying to the setting aside of forfeiture in paragraph (2) [below] of this subdivision.

(2) Setting Aside. The court may direct that a forfeiture be set aside, upon such conditions as the court may impose, if it appears that justice does not require the enforcement of the forfeiture.

Bail Agent’s Arrest Authority

While no explicit statute grants arrest authority, such may be implied from the provisions given under section #5 above, forfeiture defenses, which allow for the surrender of a defendant by a surety.

Other Noteworthy Provisions

A. GENERAL LAWS OF RHODE ISLAND ANNOTATED, 1956 TITLE 12. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CHAPTER 13. BAIL AND RECOGNIZANCE 12-13-25 Nonprofit bail corporations.

See section for detailed provisions regarding nonprofit bail corporations.

Noteworthy State Appellate Decisions

A. In re Cross
617 A.2d 97
R.I.
Nov 27, 1992

• Clerk of court issued letter complaining of alleged misconduct of bail bondsman. The Superior Court, Providence County, Rodgers, J., revoked bondsman’s license. Certiorari was granted. The Supreme Court, Weisberger, J., held that: (1) bail bondsman’s right to confront and cross examine accusers was not violated by the revocation of his license after notice and a hearing in which bondsman chose not to subpoena the witnesses who had complained against him; (2) bail bondsman’s due process rights were not violated by having burden to disprove assertions in complaint; and (3) although prerevocation hearing comported with minimum standards required by due process, bail bondsman would be allowed an additional hearing before revocation in order to give him every opportunity toB. In re Procaccianti 475 A.2d 211 (R.I. 1984) present evidence or argument against revocation. Petition denied in part and granted in part.

B. In re Procaccianti
475 A.2d 211
(R.I. 1984)

• The trial justice did not abuse his discretion by ordering a full forfeiture of a bond by a licensed bondsman where the trial justice was convinced that the bondsman had done nothing to discharge his obligations as a bondsman; moreover, it was proper to forfeit the bond as the bondsman had promised to do in the event the defendant failed to show up for trial.

C. State v. Saback
534 A.2d 1155
(R.I. 1987)

• The trial justice abused her discretion in holding that she was constrained to order a complete forfeiture of bail, without considering mitigating factors, when the defendant failed to perform a condition of his recognizance.
• Trial justice is free, where appropriate, to set aside or remit bail, regardless of whether counsel for the defense has moved to set aside or remit bail, in whole or in part, although such procedure by defense counsel is certainly highly advisable.

Bounty Hunter Provisions

At this time, there appear to be no specific regulations for “Bounty Hunters” in the Rhode Island statutes.