Opinion No. (1998)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General CLAYTON P. ROCHE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE MICHAEL D. BRADBURY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, VENTURA COUNTY, has requested an opinion on the following question: What duties may a bail agent perform for a surety and may he carry a loaded firearm while performing such duties? CONCLUSION A bail agent may, upon request of the surety liable for the undertaking, arrest a defendant and transport him to a court, magistrate, sheriff, or police, as directed. Although a bail agent has no explicit statutory authority to carry a loaded firearm when performing his duties, he is not precluded from doing so in limited circumstances. Like any person who does not have a permit to carry a firearm, he may carry a loaded firearm while engaged in the act of making or attempting to make a lawful arrest of the defendant. ANALYSIS Subdivision (e) of section 28 of article I of the Constitution provides: "A person may be released on bail by sufficient sureties, except for capital crimes when the facts are evident or the presumption great. Excessive bail may not be required. . . ." This constitutional provision and a similar one (Cal. Const., art. I , § 12 ["A person…