People v. Surety Insurance

Opinion

WOOLPERT, J.

If a defendant misses a required appearance and appears later, after the court has ordered bail forfeited, can the judge effectively reinstate the bond and continue the defendant on the same bail without notice to the surety? Our answer is that it depends. On what? The timing.

If we seem to treat this appellate issue too lightly, in riddle form, we do so in the belief that the bail status of the defendant and his or her surety should not depend upon appellate ingenuity in applying general, “jurisdictional” legislation to practical courtroom events of a frequent nature. As we…