Bail bondsman

2750 BC describe surety bail bond agreements made in the Akkadian city of Eshnunna, located in modern-day Iraq.

[1]: 193  In the past, courts in Australia, India and South Africa had disciplined lawyers for professional misconduct for setting up commercial bail arrangements.

[2] Some states, such as North Carolina, have outlawed the use or licensing of "bounty hunters", requiring instead that bail bondsmen apprehend their own fugitives.

[clarification needed] As of 2007[update] four states—Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin—had completely banned commercial bail bonding,[17] usually substituting the 10% cash deposit alternative described below.

Some of these states specifically allow AAA and similar organizations to continue providing bail bond services pursuant to insurance contracts or membership agreements.

The market evidence indicates that judges in setting bail demanded lower probabilities of flight from minority defendants—[20] see, for example, Frank Murphy's institution of a bond department at Detroit, Michigan's Recorder's Court.

[21] Furthermore, the economic incentives of bonding for profit make it less likely that defendants charged with minor crimes (who are assigned lower amounts of bail) will be released.

A far-reaching FBI investigation code-named "Operation Wrinkled Robe" led to criminal charges and removal proceedings for various judges, such as Ronald Bodenheimer, and police officers.

[35][36] The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the practice of bail bonds as a form of injustice against low-income communities and fueling mass incarceration of innocent people, with the ACLU recommending automated text messages or robocalls for court appearances.