
H. B. 2378


(By Delegates Azinger and Modesitt)


[Introduced January 26, 1999; referred to the


Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article one-c,
chapter sixty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to forfeiture
of bail bond for failure of a defendant to appear in court;
and providing for reimbursement to the bail bondsman for the
amount of the forfeited bond if the bail bondsman later
returns the bonded person to the custody of court.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article one-c, chapter sixty-two of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1C. BAIL.
§62-1C-12. Same -- Exoneration; return of deposit.




(a) When the condition of the bond has been satisfied or the
forfeiture thereof has been set aside or remitted, the court or justice magistrate shall exonerate the surety and release any
bail and, if the bail be in a form other than a recognizance, the
deposit shall be returned to the person who made the same. The
surety may be exonerated by a deposit of cash in the amount of
the bail or by a timely surrender of the defendant into custody.




(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the
contrary, when a bail bondsman, as defined in article ten,
chapter fifty-one of this code, has a surety bond forfeited
because of the failure of a defendant to appear before a court or
magistrate, that bail bondsman shall be reimbursed the full
amount of the bond forfeiture if the bail bondsman later returns
the defendant to the custody of the court or magistrate,
regardless of the intervening time period which has elapsed since
the forfeiture of the bond.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that where a
bail bondsman has a surety bond forfeited because of a
defendant's failure to appear in court, the bail bondsman shall
be reimbursed that amount if the bail bondsman later returns the
person to the custody of the court.




Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.