People v. Bankers Insurance

Appellant Bankers Insurance Company, acting through its agent Vita Bail Bonds, posted a bond on behalf of criminal defendant Luis Leon Vasquez. Vasquez failed to appear in court on January 22, 2008. The court minutes reflect that bail was ordered forfeited at that time. The reporter’s transcript does not reflect a declaration of forfeiture in open court. Appellant appeals, contending that the bond was not declared forfeited in open court as statutorily required and therefore, the bond should be exonerated. We agree and shall reverse.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Appellant posted a $90,000 bail bond on behalf of Vasquez. On January 22, 2008, Vasquez failed to appear in court as ordered. The reporter’s transcript reflects Vasquez was not present in court, and had also failed to appear in court on a separate Yuba County case. Defense counsel stated he had had no contact with Vasquez since the previous court appearance on December 14, 2007. The court found “a willful failure to appear in both the felony and trailing misdemeanor cases and issue[d] warrants for [Vasquez’s] arrest with no bail in case 1509 which is the felony and bail of 30,000 in the misdemeanor…