People v. Fin. Cas. & Sur., Inc.

*1185 A surety posted a $50,000 bail bond for a misdemeanor defendant. Throughout the case, defendant's attorney appeared on his behalf: "In all cases in which the accused is charged with a misdemeanor *1186 only, he or she may appear by counsel only ...." ( Pen. Code, § 977, subd. (a)(1).) 1 The trial court granted defendant probation, continued several probation violation hearings, and eventually ordered defendant to personally appear. When defendant failed to appear, the court ordered the bond forfeited.

On appeal, the surety argues that section 977 does not allow attorneys to appear on behalf of misdemeanor defendants at probation violation hearings; therefore, the surety contends that the trial court should have declared a forfeiture at an earlier point in time. We disagree and affirm the judgment. We hold that under section 977, an attorney may appear on behalf of a misdemeanor defendant at a probation violation hearing.

I

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In September 2008, the People filed a misdemeanor complaint charging defendant Raul Esteban Ramirez Santillan with driving under the influence and other related traffic offenses. ( Veh. Code, §§ 23152, subds. (a) &…