Bail Bond List Lawsuit Brews

In the fiercely competitive bail bond world, nothing draws more controversy than the bail bond list provided to inmates by jail administrators. Unlike Missouri, Arkansas has statutes detailing how the “list” is compiled. The Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, Arkansas reports that a lawsuit has been filed after a bail bond company’s name dropped from first to third on the county list. The Arkansas law requires bail bond companies to be listed at jails “in the order in which they register with the clerk” and specifies that the order “shall not change from year to year.” The clerk said she did some research and learned that the order of the list — which she inherited from her predecessor — did not exactly reflect the order in which companies filed their licenses with the clerk’s office, so she revised it. Bob Cole Bail Bonds, who had been first on the county list since 1989, filed an injunction, stating that he was being hurt financially because of the changes. A temporary injunction was granted and the court will hear the case in a few months.