Ask Anything: 10 questions with N.C. Bail Agents Assoc. President Mark Cartret
N.C. Bail Agents Assoc. President Mark Cartret, answers your questions about bond, liability and training.
Posted — UpdatedIf a bail agent is forced to forfeit on a bond, the bond amount is paid directly to North Carolina’s free public school system.
Bail agents enjoy rights just like any other private citizen. Bail agents may carry firearms as protection but are held to the same requirements as other private citizens, including training and certification for firearms.
Yes, bail agents actually search for those who have skipped court. In addition to N.C. law giving bail agents the authority to arrest, consider the following ruling by the United States Supreme Court that has never been overturned.
When bail is given, the principal is regarded as delivered to the custody of his sureties. Their dominion is a continuance of the original imprisonment. Whenever they choose to do so, they may seize him and deliver him up in their discharge; and if that cannot be done at once, they may imprison him until it can be done. They may exercise their right in person or by agent. They may pursue him into another state; may arrest him on the Sabbath; and, if necessary, may break and enter his house for that purpose. The seizure is not made by virtue of new process. None is needed. It is likened to the rearrest by the sheriff of an escaping prisoner.
I am a strong believer in a person’s rights under the law. One of the great foundations of our system of law is the presumption of innocence. I try never to draw any conclusions. However, a bail agent has full discretion on whether he or she decides to sign the bond for any defendant.
Bail agents have various factors including payment method they consider before signing someone’s bond and evaluate each case individually. Some bail agents require payment before the bond is posted and can process your credit card, other bail agents will allow payment after the bond is posted. A bail agent can sign your bond within a short time after your phone call. How long it takes you to get out depends on the jail administrators, not on the bail agent’s actions.
There is a lengthy and detailed process for how one pursues a career in the bail bonding industry. Details and information about these steps can be found by visiting the North Carolina Bail Agents Association’s Web site at www.ncbaa.com/getlicensed.html.
Bonds in North Carolina can range from less than $100 to in the millions of dollars. While I have never written a bond in Wake County, I personally have never written a bond beyond $500,000 on a single defendant.
The short answer is simply: hard work! The bail industry is not a get rich quick industry, but a person can do well over time. Yes, the liability is always more than the income and that liability sometimes greatly impacts the income in a negative way if the defendant can not be located and the bond is forfeited.
I am not aware of the need for such a law at this time.
There are cases of people jumping bail. Usually 10 percent of the bail bonds that are written must be pursued due to the defendant failing to appear for his or her court date. However, bail agents, having the authority of arrest for those persons for whom they have posted bond, have a reputation for finding their man. It is generally accepted that bail agents arrest and surrender 98 percent of those persons who fail to appear in court. Many people who would not have gone to court do go because they are on a bond with a bail agent.
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