BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1854
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1854 (Bloom)
As Introduced February 10, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |7-0 |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Melendez, Lackey, | |
| | |Lopez, Low, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Allows for the recovery of incurred attorney's fees
out of forfeited bail money when the district attorney, county
counsel, or applicable prosecuting agency successfully opposes a
motion to vacate the forfeiture or in collecting on the summary
judgment. Specifically, this bill, states that county counsel,
district attorneys or other applicable prosecuting agencies
shall recover costs and attorney's fees incurred when those
attorneys successfully oppose a motion to vacate bail
forfeiture.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)States that bail permits a defendant to be released from
custody by posting bond, which is a promise to pay the bond
amount unless the defendant meets the conditions, which is
generally to make all of their court appearances.
2)Entitles defendants to bail prior to conviction as a matter of
right unless the offense is punishable by death or a public
safety exception is established.
3)States that bail is set by the magistrate at the defendant's
first court appearance.
4)States that judges fix the bail amount according to a
countywide schedule which sets bail amounts according to the
offense charged.
5)States that the availability of bail after conviction in
felony cases is up to the judge's discretion if the felony is
one of the enumerated felonies.
6)Allows judges to adjust the bail up or down from the fee
schedule when certain conditions exist, but public safety is
the primary concern.
7)Permits judges to attach conditions on bail which, if
violated, can result in forfeiture of the bail.
8)States that defendants forfeit their bail when they abscond,
i.e. when the defendant fails to appear for their court
hearing without a valid excuse.
9)Allows the bail surety agents may contest bail forfeiture by
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filing a motion to vacate the forfeiture of bail.
10)States that county counsel, district attorneys or other
applicable prosecuting agency shall recover costs incurred
when the attorneys successfully oppose a motion to vacate bail
forfeiture.
11)Holds that costs do not include attorney's fees in bail
forfeiture hearings.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed non-fiscal
by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "AB 1854 would help restore
funding for the costs incurred by prosecutorial agencies in
litigating bail forfeiture motions. Forfeiture of bail due to
failure of a defendant to appear in court is often followed by a
counter-motion to challenge the forfeiture. A significant
amount of time and attorney's fees are involved in opposing
these motions, and financially strapped local prosecutors,
district attorneys, and county counsels bear the costs. This
bill would allow them to recover a portion of those costs out of
the forfeited bail money when they have successfully opposed a
motion to vacate a bail forfeiture."
1)Summary: A defendant forfeits the bail they posted when they
fail to appear in court or when they do not fulfill the
conditions of their bail, such as committing another offense
or intimidating witnesses in their case. A motion to vacate
forfeiture of bail is simply a motion to contest the
forfeiture of the bail posted by the defendant. These motions
are filed either by defense counsel or the bond surety agent
in order to recover the bail funds they posted. When defense
counsel, or a surety agent, file a motion to vacate forfeiture
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of bail, a prosecuting attorney has the option to contest the
motion. This bill would allow those prosecuting attorneys to
recover their attorneys' fees when they successfully contest
motions to vacate forfeiture of bail.
Analysis Prepared by:
Matt Dean / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0002661