Bail Bondsmen and Criminal Courts

• NCJ Number: 92050
• Journal: Justice System Journal Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1983) Pages: 141-156
• Author(s): M A Toborg
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): 80-IJ-CX-0050
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

Despite frequent criticisms of their activities, bail bondsmen continue to play an important role in the pretrial processing of defendants in most jurisdictions.

Abstract

Bondsmen facilitate the operations of criminal courts, which in turn insure the continued profitability of bondsmen's activities. The durability of bondsmen is analyzed in this article within the context of their symbiotic relationship with criminal courts. An analysis of the factors affecting bondsmen's decisions demonstrates the importance of courts' actions for bondsmen's profitability and suggests that certain 'reform' measures may have unanticipated adverse consequences. (Publisher abstract)