People v. Surety Insurance

If a defendant misses a required appearance and appears later, after the court has ordered bail forfeited, can the judge effectively reinstate the bond and continue the defendant on the same bail without notice to the surety? Our answer is that it depends. On what? The timing.

If we seem to treat this appellate issue too lightly, in riddle form, we do so in the belief that the bail status of the defendant and his or her surety should not depend upon appellate ingenuity in applying general, “jurisdictional” legislation to practical courtroom events of a frequent nature. As we will point out, the inadequacy of the statute has resulted in appellant Surety Company asking us to reaffirm this court’s prior decision which another court later, and unnecessarily, described as absurd.

Appellant (hereinafter Surety) posted a $5,000 bail bond to insure Elijio Ibarra’s presence in this criminal action. On December 24, 1981, Ibarra failed to appear at his 9 a.m. trial confirmation conference. The clerk’s minutes of that date (and time) recite: “No cause offered. Bond is forfeited Bench Warrant to issue No Bail. Trial date of 1/7/82 is vacated. Defendant appears late. Bench Warrant is…