The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

On August 25, 2022 there will be a National Bail Reform Panel Discussion at the campus of Texas Southern University.  The event will start at 1 p.m.  Members of the panel include: Kim Ogg District Attorney for Harris County, Texas. Michelle Esquenazi noted bail bond queen from New York. Ken W. Good, attorney specializing in Bail Law and the host of The Bail Post podcast.  He is also a member of the board of directors of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas. The host for the event will be Ben Crump who is a renowned civil rights attorney.  The event is free to the public.  Come and be a part of the discussion.

J.R. Woolley is the Justice of the Peace of Precinct 2 for Waller County, Texas.  Judge Wooley is also the Legislative Committee Chair of the Justices of the Peace Association and he testifies before the legislature about bills that may impact the association. On this episode of the Bail Post, Judge Woolley talks about the implementation of SB6 which is the major Criminal Justice Reform/Bail Reform Bill passed by the Texas Legislature in the most recent session and special sessions. On this episode of The Bail Post Justice of the Peace J.R. Woolley discusses magistrates magistrating magistration. Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK HERE Amazon Music-     ...

by Cynthia Stevens Kent, former judge of the 114th Judicial District Court Smith County, Texas Having served as a judge in Texas since 1984, one lesson has been clear . . . if you want a defendant to timely appear in court to answer charges filed by the State of Texas, make sure there is a surety bond posted. Without the efforts of sureties in posting bonds, our county jails would be severely overcrowded. Without the efforts of sureties in monitoring and notifying criminal defendants of court dates there would be such delays in prosecution of cases as to interfere with the due and proper administration of justice in Texas courts.  Smith County, Texas has experienced, as many Texas counties have over the past few decades, enormous jail overcrowding problems. From the two-cell jail built in Smith County in 1856 at a cost of $8,000 to the current three facilities certified to hold 750 inmates and a new 59.6 million dollar jail bond proposal for an additional 694 beds, the problems of ...

by Mike Byrd, President of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas The Bail Industry has been around for over 200 years.  The bail industry in Texas is made up of small business owners who employ hundreds of employees statewide.  These businesses are their own private sector pretrial services offices.   Bondsmen in Texas are either licensed by county bail bond boards or approved to write bonds in the county by the Sheriff.  Bondsmen attend continuing 8 hours of continuing education every two years.  The  bondsmen of Texas evaluate the risk of posting a bond for defendants every day.  The bonding industry evaluates the risk of a defendant running and not appearing for court.  The industry on average charges 10% of the face amount of the bond as a premium which is often paid in installments over time.   When the defendant is released from jail it is the responsibility of the bondsman to ensure that the defendant will appear for court....

WHAT SUCCESSFUL BAIL REFORM LOOKS LIKE By Ken W. Good – Board of Directors, Professional Bondsmen of Texas, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views,  1/24/20   The Hippocratic Oath calls for physicians to “first do no harm,” a declaration of core principles of the medical profession.  This concept can lend itself to other callings, occupations and situations, including the subject of bail reform.  While advocates argue that we need changes to our criminal justice system to make things more fair, we should keep this same ideal in mind: we should do good…or at the least, not exacerbate the situation.  Unfortunately, many of the changes proposed so far have made the criminal justice system much worse with ever-increasing numbers of outstanding warrants and cases. Successful bail reform must begin by addressing its proper goals.  Bail was created to allow someone to be freed from jail while their criminal case is prosecuted.  The person’s...

What Successful Bail Reform Looks Like by Ken W. Good I.    Introduction The private surety bail system has been in place for over 200 years. The purpose of bail is to allow someone accused of a crime to get out of jail while their case is pending.  In exchange for freedom, the accused promises to appear in court any time it demands his appearance. If a defendant fails to appear, his or her bond is forfeited and a warrant issued for arrest.  The criminal case is then placed on hold until the accused reappears. This could be hours, days, weeks or even years -- and occasionally never. As we look to improve the bail system in Texas, we must first begin with the proposition that says “we should do no harm.” We should not initiate changes which will make the system worse by created unintended consequences that create even more problems. II.    Goals of Reform To reform the bail system, we have to determine what are the goals of reform....