Mo. Supreme Court Rule Changes

In an order dated May 30, 2006, the Missouri Supreme Court amended the individual qualifications for bondsmen in Missouri to be consistent with the “Lee Clause” passed by the Missouri Legislature in 2004. Effective January 1, 2007, Supreme Court Rule 33.17(c) will read:

"A person shall not be accepted as a surety on any bail bond unless the person:

(c) Has not, within the past 15 years, been found guilty of or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to:
(1) Any felony of this state, any other state, or the United States; or
(2) Any other crime of this state, any other state, or the United States involving moral turpitude,
whether or not a sentence was imposed;"

The current rule reads:

"(c) Has not been convicted of any felony under the laws of any state or of the United States;"

The bail bond statutes were amended in 2004 (SB1122, sponsored by Rep. Bob Behnen) to allow bondsmen with felony convictions to possess a bail bond license. The previous language stated that a license could be suspended, revoked, or denied for having entered a plea of guilty or been found guilty of a felony. Additionally, the Administrative Hearing Commission had ruled in the Joyce decisions that convicted felons could not possess a general bail bond license. Virgil Lee Jackson, a convicted felon, wanted the law changed so that he would be eligible for a general license. The MPBBA (under the leadership of association president Jack Allison, board member Jackson, and others) backed legislation that changed the language to: "Final adjudication or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere within the past fifteen years in a criminal prosecution under any state or federal law for a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude whether or not a sentence is imposed, prior to issuance of license date..." Jackson, Allison, the bail association, and some of its members made campaign contributions to Rep. Behnen who had sponsored the legislation changing the felony provision.

Shortly after the law went into effect, Virgil Lee Jackson applied for a general bail bond license. Although Jackson is a convicted felon, his felony convictions were outside the 15-year window created by the new law which he and the bail bond association passed. The MO Department of Insurance (MDI) denied his application in September 2005, citing in a news release: "The department refused to issue Jackson a general bail bond agent license after he submitted documents to courts for the purpose of acting as a surety under the name of a surety company that did not hold a certificate of authority to do business in the state." One month later, Jackson was arrested by federal authorities for being a felon in possession of a firearm and was later charged with using interstate commerce with the intent to murder for pecuniary gain. Court documents allege that Jackson wanted to murder competitor Jerry Cox because he thought Cox had alerted authorities that his surety was fraudulent, presumably causing his general agent license to be denied.

Jackson is awaiting trial on the federal charges. The MDI filed a complaint against his bail bond license; it is scheduled to be heard in October.

Link to post at Columbia Daily Tribune Politics Blog