Here are the facts.

Def. is out on a felony bond in our county, when he is incarcerated in another county outside our district. The bondsman on the bond for our county files to be released from the bond and it is granted by our district judge. Our district judge then sets the amount for a new bond at $5,000, and a capias is issued.

The county where the def. is being held drops it's charges. A judge in that county then sets bond in our county's case as a PR bond. Our sheriff is notified, and he approves the def.'s PR bond, and def. is released.

My questions: Does the judge in the county in which the def. is incarcerated have jurisdiction to over-ride the bond amount set by the court before whom the case is pending? Is the PR bond valid? If it is not valid, and def. fails to show, is the bondsman still on the hook for the original bond? If he is re-arrested, and the PR bond is invalid, would the original bondsman be liable for the transportation costs of bringing him back to our county? Would the county that released the def. be liable to our county for transporting him back to our county?

I have looked at Chapt. 17 CCP, and did not find any statute directly on point, but I didn't see any statute that authorizes a court outside the jurisdiction where the case is pending to set bond either.

CCP Art. 15.17 requires a magistrate to admit a person to bail if allowed by law. Don't know about changing the amount of bond.

I hate it when out of county judges do that. I think your fastest remedy is just to request a hearing before your judge and request the PR bond be increased to a surety bond. I know your judge has the authority to do that.

In a politically correct world, the out-of-county judge should show due deference to the judge who originally set the bail. As for the legal answer, what difference does it make? Judges, by their very independent status, can do stuff that is not always reviewable.

Nonetheless, as already suggested, the original judge can re-assert his authority by finding the out-of-county judge's bond insufficient and resetting the bail.

Unfortunately, this process sometimes frees the absconder to abscond again.

[This message was edited by JB on 05-18-10 at .]