1.
Applicable State Statutes.
- INDIANA CODE
[IC] 27-10-1 to 27-10-5-3.
- IC 35-33-1-4 to
35-41-3-3.
- IC 760
DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE. 760 IAC 1-6.2 governs the actions of bail
agents and recovery agents.
1) Local
governance.
2. Licensing
Requirements for Agents. [27-10-3-3]
- Bail Agent’s
License. Licenses can only be issued to individuals [27-10-3-1 (b)
(2)] not to a firm, corporation, or association [27-10-3-1 (c)].
Applicant must meet the following requirements:
- at least 18
and of good moral character [27-10-3-3 (a) (1)],
-never convicted
of a disqualifying offense as set out in [IC 25-1-1.1] and 10 years
having lapsed after a felony conviction, and 5 years after a
misdemeanor [27-10-3-3 (a) (2)],
-has knowledge
of or instruction in the bail bond business or has held a valid all
lines fire and casualty license for 1 year within the last 5, or has
been employed by a bail bond company for 1 year of the last 5
[27-10-3-3 (a) (3)],
-be a resident
of Indiana for 1 year from date of application (waivable) [27-10-3-3
(b)],
-pay license fee
($650) and examination fee ($100) [27-10-3-4 (a)] , submit
fingerprints (certified by law enforcement) and photo [27-10-3-4 (b)],
-take and pass
in person a written examination prepared by the commissioner
[27-10-3-6].
- The regulatory
body is the Department of Insurance (DOI) [27-10-2-1]
3. Notice of
Forfeiture. [27-10-2-12]
Indiana has a
combination of late surrender fees and forfeiture. If the defendant
does not appear as required by the bond, the clerk shall mail a notice
to both the agent and the surety (at their addresses indicated
on the bond) of an order by the court to them to surrender the
defendant to the court immediately [27-10-2-12 (a)(2) (A)(B)]. The
surety has 365 days after the date of the written notice to produce
the defendant. If he does not comply, the court shall declare a
forfeiture in the amount of 20% of the face of the bond and
immediately enter judgement and assess against the surety all actual
cost associated with the defendant’s FTA [27-10-2-12(d)]. Within the
365 day period, the surety can surrender the defendant subject to a
late surrender fee. See Below in 4.
4. Allotted
Time Between Forfeiture Declaration and Due Date.
The bail agent or
surety must produce the defendant or prove within 365 days that there
was a legitimate reason for defendant’s failure to appear. If the agent
or surety does not comply with the foregoing terms within 120 days after
the clerk mails the notice, they will be assessed a late surrender fee
according to the following:
-if compliance
occurs more than 120 days but less than 180, the fee is 20% of the
bond,
-if more than
180 days but less than 210, the fee is 30% of the bond,
-if more than
210 days, but less than 240, late surrender fee is 50%,
-more than 240,
but less than 365, the fee is 80%,
-non compliance
after 365 days, the fee is 80%. [27-10-2-12(c)(1) through (5)].
- Tolling is
allowed in the sense that the court can waive the late surrender fee
or extend the period of payment if
-a written
request is filed with the court and the prosecutor [27-10-2-12(e)(1)],
-the surety
provides evidence that diligent effort was made to find the defendant
[27-10-2-12(e)(2)].
Non payment of
fees, costs or judgments, etc. result in the revocation of the insurer’s
license [27-10-2-12(f)] which a surety can appeal [27-10-2-12(h)].
5. Forfeiture
Defenses.
If the surety
cannot produce the defendant, he must prove that the defendant’s
appearance was prevented by illness or death, the defendant’s being
custody elsewhere in the US, or the required notice was not given
[27-10-2-12(b)(A)(i)-(iii)].
6. Remission.
There is no
remission period.
7. Surety’s
Arrest Authority.
For purpose of
surrendering the defendant, the surety may apprehend the defendant
before or after the forfeiture of the undertaking or may empower a law
enforcement officer to do so by providing written authority on a
certified copy of the undertaking and the payment of lawful fees
[27-10-2-7].
8. Other
Noteworthy Provisions.
A surety may
surrender the defendant without return of premium if the defendant
fails to report a change of address, conceals himself, leaves the
jurisdiction of the court without permission, violates his contract
with the surety in a way that does harm to the surety or violates the
defendant’s obligation to the court. [27-10-2-5 (a)(b)].
9. Noteworthy
Court Decisions. (To be added.)
10. Bounty
Hunter Provisions.
Recovery agents
must be licensed. [IC 27-10-3-1 (1997)] To obtain a license, recovery
agents must be at least 18 years old, be a citizen of the US, be a
resident of the state for at least 6 months, at least 10 years must
have elapsed after any felony conviction to obtain a license (5 years
for misdemeanor), [IC 27-10-3-5], and they must pass an examination
given by the State [IC 27-10-3-6]. Recovery agents must notify the
sheriff in their respective locales of residence [IC 127-10-3-17], and
bail agents must give the state a list of recovery agents they employ
[IC 27-10-3-14]. Bail agents and bounty hunters cannot forcibly enter
the home of a third party. [Mishler v State, 660 N. E. 2nd
343 (Ind. App. 1996).]
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