How Texas Bail Bonds Work
Texas bail bonds are under the applicable statutes encapsulated within Section 1704 of Vernon's Texas Code Annotated as well as the Code of Criminal Procedure, specifically on Chapter 17 which deals with Bail and on Chapter 22 on the forfeiture of Texas bail bonds.
Texas bail bonds and the entire bail industry as well is regulated under the jurisdiction of the County Bail Bond Boards which have given extensive leeway in administering specific functions related to bonds. This influential county bail bond board can furthermore regulate each phase of the county's bonding business. In counties without CBBBs however, the responsibility of enforcement falls on the county sheriff and by the county's judges.
Licensing requirements for bondsmen who want a career in Texas bail bonds must meet the state requirements for license application. Texas bail bonds licensing for aspiring agents is pretty much the same with other state requirements except for one item: applicants must submit documentary evidence showing that in the two years before application, the applicant must have been employed continuously under a licensed individual working in the area. The applicant must have undergone all the necessary training and duties required of a bondsman. The applicant must have also undergone at least 8 hours of legal education on criminal law or bail bond law courses at accredited institutions.
Notices of forfeiture for Texas bail bonds are also standard and simplified. Upon failure of the sureties or the defendants to appear, notice is immediately sent informing them of the forfeiture as well as advisement for their appearance to show just cause before the forfeiture is made final. If no sufficient cause is shown on the appointed date, the judgment is made final. Defenses to forfeiture of Texas bail bonds can be made according to the following reasons (with appropriate evidence of course): 1) validity of the Texas bail bonds; 2) death of the defendant before the forfeiture; 3) hospitalization or physical inability of the defendant which prevented the court appearance; 4) failure to present indictment or information at the first term of court; 5) the defendant or principal has been incarcerated in any jurisdiction within the United States. This last defense has its conditions though; it would only be valid as a defense if the cause of the incarceration is misdemeanor and that one is still obligated to pay the court's costs as well as the county's that incurred through its own efforts to find the defendant. For the rest of the defenses once proven to be valid, the court may still deduct its own costs as well as costs incurred by the county and whatever interest that the bond may have accumulated. It is also the Texas court's discretion to remit even the entire surety should it find the defense made to be excellent and sound, but still, deductions would be made with regards to other incidental costs incurred. The same mechanics apply for remissions with the same standard deductions of all incurred costs. Sureties however can still recover their Texas bail bonds. They can file for a special bill of review with the court with the demand that the final judgment be reformed and that a specified amount of the forfeited surety is returned. If this succeeds given just cause, deductions for court expenses will still be enforced as well.
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