House Bill 755

AN ACT TO PROVIDE A SCHEDULE OF BAIL FOR BAILABLE CRIMINAL OFFENSES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 99-5-5, 99-5-13 AND 99-5-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) Any defendant charged with an offense bailable as a matter of right may be released pending or during trial on his or her personal recognizance or on an appearance bond unless the court determines that such a release will not reasonably assure the defendant's appearance as required, or that the defendant's being at large will pose a real and present danger to others or to the public at large. If such a determination is made, the court may impose the least onerous condition or conditions contained that will reasonably assure the defendant's appearance or that will eliminate or minimize the risk of harm to others or to the public at large. In making such a determination, the court may take into account the following:

(a) The age, background and family ties, relationships and circumstances of the defendant.

(b) The defendant's reputation, character and health.

(c) The defendant's prior criminal record, including prior releases on recognizance or on secured appearance bonds, and other pending cases.

(d) The identity of responsible members of the community who will vouch for the defendant's reliability.

(e) Violence or lack of violence in the alleged commission of the offense.

(f) The nature of the offense charged, the apparent probability of conviction, and the likely sentence, insofar as these factors are relevant to the risk of nonappearance.

(g) The type of weapon used, e.g., knife, pistol, shotgun, sawed-off shotgun.

(h) Threats made against victims and/or witnesses.

(i) The value of property taken during the alleged commission of the offense.

(j) Whether the property allegedly taken was recovered or not; damage or lack of damage to property allegedly taken.

(k) Residence of the defendant, including consideration of real property ownership, and length of residence in his or her place of domicile.

(l) In cases where the defendant is charged with a drug offense, evidence of selling or pusher activity should indicate a substantial increase in the amount of bond.

(m) Consideration of the defendant's employment status and history, the location of defendant's employment, e.g., whether employed in the county where the alleged offense occurred, and the defendant's financial condition.

(n) Any enhancement statutes related to the charged offense.

(2) The following schedule is established as a general guide for courts in setting bail for persons charged with bailable offenses. Except where release is required in the minimum scheduled amount pursuant to the Rules of Criminal Procedure, courts should exercise discretion in setting bail above or below the scheduled amounts.

BAIL SCHEDULE

Recommended Range

Capital offenses........................... No Bail Allowed

Murder...................... $100,000.00 to No Bail Allowed

Felony offenses............. $ 2,500.00 to $ 60,000.00

Drug manufacturing and trafficking $5,000.00 to $100,000.00

Misdemeanors...................... $ 300.00 to $ 6,000.00

Municipal Ordinance Violations.... $ 300.00 to $ 1,000.00

Traffic Related Offenses:

DUI............................... $1,000.00 to $ 7,500.00

Reckless driving.................. $ 100.00 to $ 300.00

Speeding.......................... $ 300.00 to $ 500.00

Other traffic violation........... $ 300.00 to $ 500.00

(3) (a) A defendant who has been convicted of an offense and who for that offense has been sentenced to punishment by death, by life imprisonment, or by imprisonment for a term in excess of twenty (20) years, shall not be released.

(b) Any defendant who has been convicted of an offense for which the defendant has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for twenty (20) years or less may be released on a secured appearance bond or on the defendant's personal recognizance,

(i) Upon application for release made concurrently with the filing of a notice of appeal, or

(ii) If the application for probation is made, upon application for release made at any time before probation has been granted or denied.

(4) Release shall be denied after conviction and sentence if the trial court has reason to believe that an appearance bond or conditions of release will not reasonably assure that the defendant will not flee, or that the defendant's being at large poses a real and present danger of harm to any other person or to the public at large, or if at the time the sentence was rendered, the defendant filed a notice of appeal and elected to waive release and to begin serving the sentence.

SECTION 2. Section 99-5-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

99-5-5. All bonds and recognizances taken for the appearance of any party, either as defendant, prosecutor, or witness in any criminal proceeding or matter, shall be made payable to the state, and shall have the effect to bind the accused and his sureties on the bond or recognizance until the principal shall be discharged by due course of law, and shall be in full force, from term to term, for a period of three (3) years, except that a bond returnable to the Supreme Court shall be in full force for a period of five (5) years. Such bond or recognizance shall comply with the provisions of Section 1 of this act. If it is necessary to renew a bond, it shall be renewed without additional premium. At the end of the applicable period, a bond or recognizance that is not renewed shall expire and shall be uncollectible unless the collection process was started on or before the expiration date of such bond or recognizance. Any bond or recognizance taken prior to July 1, 1996, shall expire on July 1, 1999. If a defendant is charged with multiple counts in one (1) warrant only one (1) bond shall be taken.

SECTION 3. Section 99-5-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

99-5-13. When it shall appear to the court before which any person charged with a criminal offense has given bail to appear that such bail is insufficient in any respect, the court may order the issuance of process for the arrest of such person, and may require him to give bail as may be ordered and in compliance with Section 1 of this act, and, in default thereof, may commit him to jail as in other cases.

SECTION 4. Section 99-5-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

99-5-23. All bonds, recognizances, or acknowledgments of indebtedness, conditioned for the appearance of any party before any court or officer, in any state case or criminal proceeding, which shall have the effect to free such party from jail or legal custody of any sort, shall be valid and bind the party and sureties, according to the condition of such bond, recognizance, or acknowledgment, whether it was taken by the proper officer or under circumstances authorized by law or not, or whether the officer's return identify it or not. Such bonds, recognizances or acknowledgements shall comply with Section 1 of this act.

It shall not be an objection to any bail-bond or recognizance that it is in the form of an acknowledgment before a court or officer and is without the signature of any person, or is without the indorsement of approval by any officer; but all persons who, by their acknowledgment before any officer of liability to pay a sum of money to the state if some person shall not appear before some court or officer in a criminal prosecution, procure the discharge from custody of such person, shall be bound accordingly upon the recognizance. An obligation signed by a person to obtain the discharge from custody of another shall not be invalid, if it have that effect, because it does not have indorsed on it the approval of any officer, or because the taking thereof be not recited in the return of the officer.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.