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49-400: A bounty hunter is a private agent working for a bail bondsman who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty . The occupation, officially known as a bail enforcement agent or fugitive recovery agent , has traditionally operated outside the legal constraints that govern police officers and other agents of the state. This is because a bail agreement between a defendant and

98-514: A bail bondsman is essentially a civil contract that is incumbent upon the bondsman to enforce. Since they are not police officers, bounty hunters are exposed to legal liabilities from which agents of the state are protected as these immunities enable police to perform their functions effectively without fear of lawsuits. Everyday citizens approached by a bounty hunter are neither required to answer their questions nor allowed to be detained. Bounty hunters are typically independent contractors paid

147-399: A deed of trust and name the bonding agency as beneficiary. The agency thus gains a lien on the property, but can only take ownership if the defendant fails to comply with all court instructions and rules. In some states, such as Florida, bond agencies are responsible for paying any forfeitures, and risk being denied permission to write further bonds in the state if they fail to do so. If

196-470: A "general warrant" to enforce its laws. These warrants were broad in nature and did not have specifics as to why they were issued or what the arrest was being made for. A general warrant placed almost no limitations on the search or arresting authority of a soldier or sheriff. This concept had become a serious problem when those in power issued general warrants to have their enemies arrested when no wrongdoing had been done. The Parliament of Great Britain passed

245-674: A bail agent or fugitive recovery agent's powers of arrest, the governments in other countries, including sovereign Native American territories within the United States, do not recognize a bail agent's or fugitive recovery agent's powers of arrest. Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman , star of the TV series Dog the Bounty Hunter , was arrested in Mexico after he apprehended the multi-millionaire rapist and fugitive Andrew Luster . Chapman

294-490: A bounty hunter may enter the fugitive's legal residence without any warrant , besides the original bail bonds contract signed by the fugitive, to execute a re-arrest. In some states, bounty hunters do not undergo any formal training, and are generally unlicensed, only requiring sanction from a bail bondsman to operate. In other states, however, they are held to varying standards of training and license . State legal requirements are often imposed on out-of-state bounty hunters, so

343-536: A commission of the total bail amount that is owed by the fugitive; they provide their own professional liability insurance and only get paid if they are able to find the " skip " and bring them in. Bounty hunting is a vestige of common law which was created during the Middle Ages. In the United States, bounty hunters primarily draw their legal imprimatur from an 1872 Supreme Court decision, Taylor v. Taintor . The practice historically existed in many parts of

392-594: A county jail. Several high-profile cases involving bondsman misconduct have led to calls for increased regulation of the industry or outright abolition of the bail for profit industry. One of the most prominent cases, in Louisiana, involved bribery of judges by a bail bonding agency. A far-reaching FBI investigation code-named "Operation Wrinkled Robe" led to criminal charges and removal proceedings for various judges, such as Ronald Bodenheimer , and police officers. The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized

441-464: A detailed licensing process which requires any person who wants to engage in the business as a bail enforcement agent (bounty hunter) to first obtain a professional license from the Commissioner of Public Safety; specifically detailing that "No person shall, as surety on a bond in a criminal proceeding or as an agent of such surety, engage in the business of taking or attempting to take into custody

490-422: A fee of 10% for a state charge and 15% for a federal charge, with a minimum of $ 100 in such states as Florida , required in order to post a bond for the full amount of the bail. This fee is not refundable and represents the bond agent's compensation for services rendered. Nevada is one of the states which allow an arrestee to use a residence as collateral for a bail bond. To do this, the applicant must register

539-445: A fugitive could temporarily escape rearrest by entering a state in which the bail agent has limited or no jurisdiction. In the United States legal system, the 1873 U.S. Supreme Court case Taylor v. Taintor , 16 Wall (83 U.S. 366, 21 L.Ed. 287), is cited as having established that the person into whose custody an accused is remanded as part of the accuser's bail has sweeping rights to that person. Though this may have been accurate at

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588-523: A fugitive pursuant to a bench warrant. According to the Chapter 648 of Florida Statute regarding Bail Bond Agents, "A person may not represent himself or herself to be a bail enforcement agent, bounty hunter, or other similar title in this state." Louisiana requires bounty hunters to wear clothing identifying them as such. A Nevada bounty hunter is referred to as a bail enforcement agent or bail enforcement solicitor. In order to meet state requirements,

637-530: A license to engage in bounty hunting while other states may have no restrictions. There have been some states that have rolled out specific laws that govern bounty hunting. For example, Minnesota laws provide that a bounty hunter cannot drive a white, black, maroon, or dark green vehicle, or wear any colors that are reserved for the police in the state (e.g. maroon, which is worn by the Minnesota Highway Patrol). The State of Connecticut has

686-557: A minimum of 20 hours of criminal justice training and a minimum of eight hours of firearms training. Some of the more advanced schools offer specialized training in the area of tactical firearms to prepare BEAs for conducting dangerous recovery operations. In Florida, only a "limited surety agent" licensed by the Florida Department of Financial Services - Bureau of Agent and Agency Licensing, may legally apprehend bail fugitives in addition to law enforcement's ability to arrest

735-568: A part of the U.S. law enforcement system with a decision in Taylor v. Taintor : When the bail is given, the principal is regarded as delivered to the custody of his sureties. Their domain is a continuance of the original imprisonment. Whenever they choose to do so, they may seize him and deliver him up to his discharge; and if it cannot be done at once, they may imprison him until it can be done. They may exercise their rights in person or by agent. They may pursue him into another state; may arrest him on

784-604: A residence in Canada and returned him to Florida to face trial. Kear was extradited to Canada in 1983, and convicted of kidnapping. Several bounty hunters have been arrested for killing a fugitive or apprehending the wrong individuals. Unlike police officers, they have no legal protections against injuries to non-fugitives and few legal protections against injuries to their targets. In a Texas case, bounty hunters Richard James and his partner DG Pearson were arrested in 2001 for felony charges during an arrest. The charges were levied by

833-418: A state examination. A Texas bounty hunter is required to be a peace officer, Level III (armed) security officer , or a private investigator . International extradition exists only by authority of an international treaty with the nation where the fugitive is located. Extradition treaties limit extradition to certain offenses and not all fugitives can be extradited. Generally, the crime being charged against

882-423: Is because a bail bondsman will not find it profitable to work on matters where the percentage of profit would yield $ 10 or $ 20. As such, bail bondsmen help release people with higher amounts of bail who are also charged with higher crimes, creating an imbalance in the numbers of people charged with minor crimes (low level misdemeanors) and increasing jail expenditures for this category of crimes. In California, bail

931-404: Is determined by the court. Warrant (law) A warrant is generally an order that serves as a specific type of authorization , that is, a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate , that permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is performed. A warrant

980-508: Is heavily regulated by the California Penal Code, California Insurance Code and California Code of Regulations. All violations of the aforementioned constitute felony violations via California Insurance Code 1814— including administrative regulatory codes such as record keeping, how solicitations are conducted, collateral and treatment of arrestees. Under California law it is a crime for a bail bondsman to solicit business at

1029-553: Is usually issued by a court and is directed to a sheriff , a constable , or a police officer. Warrants normally issued by a court include search warrants , arrest warrants , and execution warrants . In the United Kingdom , senior public appointments are made by warrant under the royal sign-manual , the personal signature of the monarch , on the recommendation of the government. In an interesting survival from medieval times, these warrants abate (lose their force) on

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1078-693: Is usually paid about 10% of the total bail amount, but this commission can vary on an individual, case-by-case basis, usually depending upon the difficulty level of the assignment and the approach used to exonerate the bail bond. If the fugitive eludes bail, the bondsman, not the bounty hunter, is responsible for 100% of the total bail amount. This is a way of ensuring clients arrive at trial. As of 2003, bounty hunters claimed to catch 31,500 bail jumpers per year, about 90% of people who jump bail. Bounty hunters have varying levels of authority in their duties with regard to their targets, depending on which states they operate in. Barring restrictions applicable state by state,

1127-527: The Akkadian city of Eshnunna , located in modern-day Iraq . Bondsmen obtain the release of defendants from jail by paying sums of currency and pledging, sometimes with their own property as collateral, that said defendant(s) will show up for court. According to 1996 figures for the U.S., one quarter of all released felony defendants fail to appear at trial, but those released via surety bond appear more frequently than other defendants. Laws governing

1176-613: The Connecticut State Police converted its bail enforcement agent licensing unit to reflect the role bail enforcement agents play in the Connecticut criminal justice system; placing them in the newly defined Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Several schools in Connecticut have obtained certification by the Connecticut State Police to pre-license bail enforcement agents in

1225-768: The Excessive Bail Clause of the Eighth Amendment and the Bail Reform Act of 1984 , incorporated into the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 . "There are 18 states where theoretically anyone can become a bail recovery agent..." In most jurisdictions, bond agents must be licensed to carry on business within the state. Some insurance companies may offer insurance coverage that includes local bail bonds for traffic related arrests. Bond agents generally charge

1274-633: The Revenue Act 1767 ( 7 Geo. 3 . c. 46) which reaffirmed the legality of writs of assistance , or general search warrants , and gave customs officials broad powers to search houses and businesses for smuggled goods. This law was one of the key acts of Great Britain which led to the American Revolution , and is the direct reason that the American Founding Fathers ensured that general warrants would be illegal in

1323-722: The United States because the practice of bail bonding is illegal in most other countries. The industry is represented by various trade associations with the Professional Bail Agents of the United States and the American Bail Coalition forming an umbrella group for bail agents and surety companies and the National Association of Fugitive Recovery Agents representing the bounty hunting industry. Organizations that represent

1372-520: The United States will take the approximate form of: "This Court orders the Sheriff or Constable to find the named person, wherever he may be found, and deliver said person to the custody of the Court." Generally, a U.S. arrest warrant must contain the caption of the court issuing the warrant, the name (if known) of the person to be arrested, the offense charged, the date of issue, the officer(s) to whom

1421-603: The 10% cash deposit alternative described below. Some of these states specifically allow AAA and similar organizations to continue providing bail bond services pursuant to insurance contracts or membership agreements. While not outright illegal, the practice of bail bond services has effectively ended in Massachusetts as of 2014. Most of the US legal establishment, including the American Bar Association and

1470-526: The National District Attorneys Association, dislikes the bail bond business, saying it discriminates against poor and middle-class defendants, does nothing for public safety, and usurps decisions that ought to be made by the justice system. Charitable bail funds have sprung up to combat the issue of discrimination, using donations to cover the bail amount for the arrested person. The economically discriminatory effect of

1519-656: The Sabbath; and if necessary, may break and enter his house for that purpose. The seizure is not made by virtue of due process. None is needed. It is likened to the arrest by the sheriff of an escaped prisoner. In modern times, bounty hunters carry out arrests mostly of those who have skipped bail or whose bail has been revoked; but are often referred to as and typically prefer to be identified by more formal titles such as "bail enforcement agents" or "fugitive recovery agents". When undertaking arrest warrants, agents may wear bullet-resistant vests , badges, and other clothing bearing

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1568-753: The United States by ratifying the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1791. Under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution a warrant is broadly required, which particularly describes the place to be searched, and the persons, or things, to be seized; no warrants may be issued without probable cause , and support by testimony before a judge. The courts have recognized many warrantless searches , including exceptions for routine administrative or inventory searches, searches made under exigent circumstances, and searches made with consent. A typical arrest warrant in

1617-480: The bail agent must complete a minimum 80 hours of training (or a POST certification), and that they pass the required examinations and obtain a bail enforcement agent license by the Nevada Division of Insurance within nine months of employment. To acquire such license, one must be at least 21 years old, a United States citizen, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and undergo the required training and pass

1666-512: The bond system has been controversial and subject to attempts at reform since the 1910s. The market evidence indicates that judges in setting bail demanded lower probabilities of flight from minority defendants— see, for example, Frank Murphy 's institution of a bond department at Detroit, Michigan 's Recorder's Court . Furthermore, the economic incentives of bonding for profit make it less likely that defendants charged with minor crimes (who are assigned lower amounts of bail) will be released. This

1715-678: The death of the sovereign if they have not already been executed. This particularly applied to death warrants in the days when England authorized capital punishment . Perhaps the most well-known example of this occurred on 17 November 1558, when England was under the rule of a Catholic queen, Mary I , daughter of Henry VIII and the Spanish Catholic Catherine of Aragon . Several Protestants convicted of heresy had been condemned to die. They were tied to stakes in Smithfield , an open market area in central London , and

1764-704: The defendant fails to appear in court, the bond agent must bring the defendant to the jurisdiction of the court in order to be released from further liability of the bond. A bond agent may employ a bounty hunter for that purpose. "Only the Philippines has a surety bail system similar in structure and function [as the US]." In the past, courts in Australia, India and South Africa had disciplined lawyers for professional misconduct for setting up commercial bail arrangements. Some states, such as North Carolina , have outlawed

1813-617: The firewood bundles were about to be lit, when a royal messenger rode up to announce that Mary I had died: the warrants for their death had lost their force. The first formal act of Mary's successor, the Protestant Elizabeth I , daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn , was to decline to re-issue the warrants; the Protestants were released a few weeks later. For many years, the English, later British, government had used

1862-412: The fugitive and his family, but were later dismissed against the hunters after the fugitive's wife shot a deputy sheriff in another arrest attempt of the fugitive by the county sheriff's department. The hunters sued the fugitive and family, winning the civil suit for malicious prosecution with a judgment amount of $ 1.5 million. Bail bondsman Bail bond agents are almost exclusively found in

1911-432: The fugitive must be recognized as a crime in the jurisdiction from which extradition is being sought. Bail fugitive recovery agents may run into serious legal problems if they try to apprehend fugitives outside the United States, where they have no legal authority to arrest, and taking a person into custody could be charged as kidnapping or some other serious crime. While the United States government and most states recognize

1960-464: The inscription "bail enforcement agent" or similar titles. Many agents arm themselves with firearms, or sometimes with less lethal weapons, such as tasers , batons , tear gas ( CS gas , pepper spray ), or pepper spray projectiles . In the United States, the National Association of Fugitive Recovery Agents is the professional association representing this industry. Bounty hunters in the United States are employed by bail bondsmen . The bounty hunter

2009-615: The legal profession, including the American Bar Association and the National District Attorneys Association, oppose the practice of bond dealing by claiming that it discriminates against poor and middle-class defendants while doing nothing for public safety . The first modern bail bonds business in the United States was established by Peter P. McDonough in San Francisco in 1898. However, clay tablets from ca. 2750 BC describe surety bail bond agreements made in

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2058-554: The practice of bail bonds as a form of injustice against low-income communities and fueling mass incarceration of innocent people, with the ACLU recommending automated text messages or robocalls for court appearances. In addition to the use of bail bonds, a defendant may be released under other terms. These alternatives include pretrial services programs , own recognizance or signature bond, cash bond , surety bond , property bond , and citation release . The choice of these alternatives

2107-675: The practice of bail bonds vary by state, although the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act , sponsored by the Uniform Law Commission , has been widely adopted. In the state of California , bail bond agreements must be verified and certified by the California Department of Insurance . The practice of commercial bail bonds is unlawful in the states of Illinois , Kentucky , Oregon , and Wisconsin . Applicable federal laws include

2156-517: The principal on the bond who has failed to appear in court and for whom a re-arrest warrant or capias has been issued unless such person is licensed as a bail enforcement agent". Connecticut has strict standards which require bail enforcement agents to pass an extensive background check and, while engaging in fugitive recovery operations, wear a uniform, notify the local police barrack, wear a badge, and only carry licensed and approved firearms, including handguns and long guns which are permitted. Recently,

2205-443: The time the decision was reached, the portion cited was obiter dictum and has no binding precedential value. As of 2008, four states, Illinois , Kentucky , Oregon , and Wisconsin , prohibited the practice, as they have abolished commercial bail bonds and banned the commercial bail bonds industry within their borders. As of 2012, Nebraska and Maine similarly prohibit surety bail bonds. The states of Texas and California require

2254-483: The use or licensing of "bounty hunters", requiring instead that bail bondsmen apprehend their own fugitives. Bond agents may also attempt to recover money forfeited to the court for the failure of a defendants to appear by suing indemnitors, any persons who guaranteed the defendants' appearances in court, or the defendants themselves. As of 2007 four states— Illinois , Kentucky , Oregon , and Wisconsin —had completely banned commercial bail bonding, usually substituting

2303-402: The warrant is directed, and the signature of the magistrate. Warrants may also be issued by other government entities, including legislatures , since most have the power to compel the attendance of their members. When a legislature issues a warrant, it is called a call of the house . The person being investigated, arrested, or having their property seized, pursuant to a warrant is given

2352-504: The world; however, as of the 21st century, it is found almost exclusively in the United States as the practice is illegal under the laws of most other countries. State laws vary widely as to the legality of the practice; Illinois , Kentucky , Oregon , and Wisconsin have outlawed commercial bail bonds, while Wyoming offers few (if any) regulations governing the practice. In 1873, the Supreme Court noted that bounty hunters were

2401-440: Was subsequently released, but was later declared a fugitive by a Mexican prosecutor and was subsequently arrested in the United States to be extradited back to Mexico. All charges were later dropped due to the crime passing the statute of limitations date. Chapman has maintained that under Mexico's citizen arrest law, he and his crew acted under proper policy. Daniel Kear of Fairfax, Virginia , pursued and abducted Sidney Jaffe at

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