Wirch Calls for Veto of Bail Bond Budget Provision

Fellow Lawmakers, Judges, State Attorney General Join the Call

Madison- State Senator Bob Wirch (D-Somers) today joined fifty-two other state legislators in sending a letter to Governor Walker requesting that he use his line-item veto to remove a provision in the budget bill that would allow for private bail bondsmen to operate in Wisconsin.

“The state outlawed for-profit bail bonds back in 1979 for good reason. The decision about whether an accused person is a public safety or flight risk and should go free needs to be left in the hands of judges, not some private business whose goal is to make a profit. Other than lobbyists, no one was asking for this, so its inclusion in the budget is just mind-boggling,” Wirch stated.

Under current law, a person charged with a crime has his or her bail set by a judge, based on considerations of public safety and whether the person is a flight risk, and the accused pays the court directly. A person who skips their hearing forfeits the bail, with the funds often going into the crime victims’ restitution fund, and the state issues an arrest warrant. If the person appears at court, the amount paid is refunded, providing a financial incentive to show up. Under the commercial bail bond system, a defendant pays 10% of his or her bail directly to a private bail bond company. This fee is non-refundable – even if a person shows up for court and is found innocent, they lose the amount paid. This can be a significant loss for low-income defendants; those who cannot afford to lose the 10% fee often stay in jail. Bail bond companies are obligated to pay the full bond amount if a “client” does not show up for court; as a result; they use “bounty hunters” to track down bail jumpers and bring them to court. In many states, bounty hunters can break into homes, imprison accused people, and move detainees across state lines, all without fulfilling the Constitution’s warrant requirements.

“These bounty hunters almost operate above the law – they kick in doors, barge into private residences, move people from state to state – and all without warrants. We’ve had judges in other states convicted and impeached for taking bribes from bail bond companies to jack up bail amounts. It sounds like we are talking about the Wild West, not Wisconsin,” said Wirch.

In addition to the group of lawmakers, the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association; the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys; all 10 of the state’s chief circuit court judges; the Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association; police chiefs, judges and clerks of court from around the state; and Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen have opposed the revival of bail bonds or requested it be vetoed. Governor Walker used his veto pen to eliminate a similar provision from the budget bill in 2011.