Arrested? Told you need to pay $40 to be released? That is simply not true.

For eleven years I took part in a scam that turns the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Part I, Article 33 of the New Hampshire Constitution into a money making racket.

When you are arrested for a crime or offense which is punishable in the adult system, the police have generally three options regarding your release.

1) Release you on a hand summons. (A ticket, telling you when to appear in court.)
2) Release you without any charges.
3) Contact a “Bail Commissioner” who will decide what your bail will be.

The third option typically is what happens most and if you have been through it you are most likely $40+ poorer for the experience.  The thing is this: you legally do not have to pay and they still need to release you.  Any threat to not release you is just that.  An empty threat.  In fact, you would be quite lucky if they followed through with such a threat …

… as you would probably have an outstanding civil rights violation case.

Let me do a wee bit of explaining.

A “bail commissioner” is an appointed “judical officer” who serves underneath a district or superior court judge and who typically is supervised by the respective court clerk.  These are the individuals who are called in the middle of the night to decide what the conditions of your release may be.  They can decide to release you on personal recognizance or cash bail and may impose a list of conditions on your release.  The catch is that in order for their decision to be legally binding you have to “agree” to them having jurisdiction over you in the first place.  This agreement is when you sign the actual bail form and when you sign a white piece of paper agreeing to the services of a bail commissioner when they first arrive.

Although the law in New Hampshire does require that you pay for your Constitutional right of bail (and it could be argued that you are paying for the expedited service, which you are), a recent New Hampshire Supreme Court case makes clear that you have to be released by the bail commissioner even if you don’t pay.

The NH Supreme Court says:

we impose the following safeguards to avoid that appearance. The bail commissioner must inform arrestees of the date they could come before the court if they choose not to have bail set. The bail commissioner must also hold a bail hearing whether the fee is paid or not, and must inform arrestees that a hearing will be held regardless of whether the fee is paid. The bail commissioner must also inform arrestees that if they cannot pay the fee at the time of setting bail, then the fee may be paid over time or it will be waived for indigency.

I have known many bail commissioners during my tenure in law enforcement and many are good people looking to help augment their living by making a few extra dollars.  I have no problem with this.  The problem I do have is that it is not known by many people that they are constitutionally entitled to these services without having to pay and that they are usually led to believe the exact opposite.

In the past I have been guilty of leading people to believe this so that the bail commissioner would be paid their fee………  and it is just not true.

Now you can subscribe to Free Keene via email!

Don't miss a single post!


Subscribe
Notify of
guest

20 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
20
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x