Wyoming Bail Law:

Applicable Statutes

1. WYOMING COURT RULES ANNOTATED WYOMING RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Rule 46. Release from custody.

Wyoming’s statutes are very limited as to the bail bonding business.

Licensing Requirements

Wyoming does not appear to having any licensing requirements for bail agents at this time, nor is there any legislation pending on this subject.

Notice of Forfeiture

1. WYOMING COURT RULES ANNOTATED WYOMING RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Rule 46. Release from custody.

• (f) Forfeiture of bail.

(A) Declaration – If there is a breach of condition of a bond, the court shall declare a forfeiture of the bail.

(B) 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 bond, 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. The obligors’ 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.

2. WYOMING STATUTES 1977 TITLE 7. Criminal Procedure CHAPTER 3. Fugitives and Prevention of Crime ARTICLE 5. Prevention of Crime § 7-3-505 Filing of recognizance; forfeiture.

• A recognizance taken in accordance with W.S. 7-3-501 through 7-3-505 shall be filed by the clerk of the court in the court records. Upon a breach of the condition of the recognizance, the court shall declare a forfeiture of the security in the manner provided for the forfeiture of bail in criminal cases, except for good cause shown.

Allotted Time between Forfeiture Declaration and Payment Due Date

Wyoming’s statutes appear to be very limited in regard to bail forfeiture. The only relevant provisions governing forfeiture are listed in the preceding and following sections.

Forfeiture Defenses

1. WYOMING COURT RULES ANNOTATED WYOMING RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Rule 46. Release from custody.

• (g) Exoneration of obligors. — When the condition of the bond has been satisfied or the forfeiture thereof has been set aside or remitted, 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

1. WYOMING COURT RULES ANNOTATED WYOMING RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Rule 46. Release from custody.

• Setting Aside. — The court may direct that a forfeiture be set aside in whole or in part, upon such conditions as the court may impose, if a person released upon execution of an appearance bond with a surety is subsequently surrendered by the surety into custody or if it otherwise appears that justice does not require the forfeiture.
• 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).

Bail Agent’s Arrest Authority

• While not expressly stated in the Wyoming statutes, a bail agent’s arrest authority may be implied from – WYOMING COURT RULES ANNOTATED WYOMING RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Rule 46 (g) – which states that a surety may “surrender” a defendant.

Other Noteworthy Provisions

N/A

Noteworthy State Appellate Decisions

1. Clemas v. State
455 P.2d 900
Wyo.
Jun 26, 1969

• Defendant filed motion to have that portion of bond which had been previously forfeited remitted to him after dismissal of criminal charge. The District Court of Crook County, Rodney M. Guthrie, J., denied the motion and defendant appealed. The Supreme Court held that trial court which had forfeited portion of defendant’s bond when defendant was incarcerated in South Dakota and did not appear to answer to charge of breaking and entering did not abuse its discretion in refusing to remit forfeited portion of bond after charge of breaking and entering had been dismissed on ground that trial had been passed for four terms of court. Affirmed.

2. Simms v. Oedekoven 839 P.2d 381
Wyo.
Sep 28, 1992

• In an original proceeding on accused’s petition for writ of habeas corpus, accused challenged denial of pretrial bail on grounds that he presented serious flight risk. The Supreme Court, Thomas, J., held that rule providing that bail may be denied in such circumstances violated State Constitution. Order on writ confirmed.

Bounty Hunter Provisions

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