Bail Bond News From Other States

Utah-The Salt Lake Tribune reports that a bail bond company lawsuit against the Utah Department of Insurance was settled Friday for $20,300. The amount represents income lost by plaintiff Rebel Bail Bonds during the 10 days in 2005 it was prohibited from writing bonds. In issuing the suspension in June 2005, the insurance department alleged that Rebel had written bonds above the limit set by the state. Rebel said the state erroneously included bonds that had been exonerated when court cases were dismissed or the defendants were sentenced, and complained that the department opted for immediate suspension instead of giving the company the chance to straighten out the misunderstanding. Its suit, filed January in U.S. District Court, alleged that suspending a company without holding a hearing first was a denial of due process.

Tennessee-The Chattanoogan.com reports that a Red Bank, TN city judge candidate Johnny Houston said bonds set by Red Bank City Court Judge Gary Disheroon in the case involving the stabbing of Leslie Starnes were too low. Police said Ms. Starnes was stabbed eight times by her alleged attacker, Karl Rapp, on Sunday night. Houston reported that the bonds set by the sitting judge are too low, appalling, and in violation of the bail bond reform act. According to the article, bond schedules were declared unconstitutional in Tennessee 20 years ago. All defendants must be brought before a judge within 48 hours and the judge determines the amount of bond. Houston claims that Judge Disheroon failed to consider the safety of the community in setting the bond for aggravated assault and stalking and used a preset schedule of $1,250. "Obviously the judge’s preset bond schedule has been out of compliance with the law for many years. This noncompliance denies a defendant due process and fails to protect the citizens of Red Bank," claimed Houston.