Bail Bond Laws in Connecticut

Are bail bonds important to Connecticut? Absolutely. Bail bonds play an essential role in the criminal system. The right to bail allows a defendant to be on equal grounds. Bail equalizes the scales of justice. Defendants released on affordable bail have access to resources on the outside to fight their case frequently with a favorable result.

Bail bond laws are imperative to the community, the incarcerated community, law enforcement, bail agents, and the court system. With a highly regulated commercial bail industry, Connecticut has one of the best pretrial release programs. Unlike other states, CT Bail laws evaluate the accused individually using weight release criteria. This law allows defendants accused of a crime to be evaluated fairly and differently from those with a long history of arrests and convictions. When using surety bail to obtain release, surety agencies are liable to secure the defendant’s return to court or must pay the face value of the written bond.

bail bond laws
Capitol Building on Capitol Ave., Hartford, CT 06103

CT Bail Bonds Timeline

Effective January 1st of 2020

Bail Bond Law Changes. Judges Change Bond Criteria – A change in the “Practice Book” affects bonds $20,000 or less. A panel of judges approves a 10% cash option on bonds $20,000 and under.

Bail Bonds and Bail Types

What is bail?

Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court in order to persuade it to release an accused from jail, on the understanding that the accused will return for trial or forfeit the bail (“skipping bail”, or “jumping bail”, is also illegal).  In some countries, including the US, granting bail is common. In others, depending upon the court and the accusations, bail is not always available. Countries without bail imprison the accused before the trial only if deemed necessary.

Forms of Bail Bonds:

The “form of bail” varies from jurisdiction, but the common forms of bail bonds include the following:

You Should Know: In many jurisdictions, the defendant can post bail either by cash and/or surety.

Bail History in the United States

Bail law in the U.S.

In pre-independence America, bail law was based on English law. Some colonies simply guaranteed their subjects the protections of British law. In 1776, after the Declaration of Independence, those who had not already done so enacted their own versions of bail laws

Section 9 of Virginia’s 1776 Constitution states, “excessive bail ought not to be required…” In 1785, the following was added, “Those shall be let to bail who are apprehended for any crime not punishable in life or limb… But if a crime be punishable by life or limb, or if it be manslaughter and there be good cause to believe the party guilty thereof, he shall not be admitted to bail.”

Section 29 of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 states, “Excessive bail shall not be exacted for bailable offenses”.

The Eighth Amendment in the US Federal Bill of Rights is derived from the Virginia Constitution, and reads,

“Excessive bail shall not be required…”, in regard to which Samuel Livermore commented, “The clause seems to have no meaning to it, I do not think it necessary. What is meant by the term excessive bail…?!”

The Sixth Amendment, to the Constitution, like the English Habeas Corpus Act of 1678, requires that a suspect must “be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation” and thus enabling a suspect to demand bail if accused of a bailable offense.

Judiciary Act of 1787

In 1789, the same year that the Bill of Rights was introduced, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789. This specified which types of crimes were bailable and set bounds on a judge’s discretion in setting bail. The Act states that all non-capital crimes are bailable and that in capital cases the decision to detain a suspect, prior to trial, was to be left to the judge.

The Judiciary Act states, “Upon all arrests in criminal cases, bail shall be admitted, except where punishment may be by death, in which cases it shall not be admitted but by the supreme or a circuit court, or by a justice of the supreme court, or a judge of a district court, who shall exercise their discretion therein.”

Bail Reform Act of 1966

In 1966, Congress enacted the Bail Reform Act of 1966 which states that a non-capital defendant is to be released, pending trial, on his personal recognizance or on personal bond, unless the judicial officer determines that such incentives will not adequately assure his appearance at trial. In that case, the judge must select an alternative from a list of conditions, such as restrictions on travel.

Individuals charged with a capital crime, or who have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing or appeal, are to be released unless the judicial officer has reason to believe that no conditions will reasonably assure that the person will not flee or pose a danger.

In non-capital cases, the Act does not permit a judge to consider a suspect’s danger to the community, only in capital cases or after conviction is the judge authorized to do so.

The 1966 Act was particularly criticized within the District of Columbia, where all crimes formerly fell under Federal bail law. In a number of instances, persons accused of violent crimes committed additional crimes when released on their personal recognizance. These individuals were often released yet again.

The Judicial Council committee recommended that, even in non-capital cases, a person’s dangerousness should be considered in determining conditions for release. Criminal Law and Procedure: D.C. Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 allowed judges to consider dangerousness and risk of flight when setting bail in non-capital cases.

Pretrial Services Act of 1982

In 1982 Congress replaced the Bail Reform Act of 1966 with new bail law, codified in United States Code, Title 18, Sections 3141-3150.

Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2011) (a) No surety bail bond agent shall execute a bail bond without charging the premium rate approved by the commissioner pursuant to chapter 701 of the general statutes. “AN ACT CONCERNING SURETY BAIL BOND AGENTS AND PROFESSIONAL BONDSMEN.”

Most Recent Bail Law in Connecticut

CT Bail Bond Changes during 2020

Bail Bond Changes. Judges Change Bond Criteria –  A change in the “Practice Book” affects bonds $20,000 or less. A panel of judges approves a 10% cash option on bonds $20,000 and under.

Current CT Bail Bond laws are up-to-date and in accordance with the state of Connecticut. To learn more about bail laws, visit our blog.