Bail rules keep At about 7:30 one Friday night, 54-year-old David Lane of Waipahu was driving on the H-1 freeway to pick up his wife in Kahala when a police officer stopped him.
prison doors locked
behind those
arrested on weekends
Running afoul of the law on
Friday night may mean
spending the weekend in jailBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.comLane, whose driver's license had expired, was taken into custody for driving under the influence. At the Honolulu Police Department's main station, his bail was set at $500. Lane called his wife, Darlene, who contacted Da Kine Bail Bonds for a bond to release her husband.
But a bail agent informed Darlene Lane that she would have to wait until Monday because a court seal and file stamp necessary for jails to accept a bond were not available until regular business hours.
"I was so frustrated," said Lane, who scraped together enough cash from friends and relatives to free her husband nearly 20 hours later.
Her case is not unique. Prisoners in all counties in Hawaii except Hawaii County are spending more time in jail than they should because they cannot get bail bonds until the courts are open.
Honolulu attorney Earle Partington contends it is illegal for counties not to release prisoners on bail bonds 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A bail bond is designed to assure the appearance of a defendant in court. If the defendant fails to appear in court at the time of trial, the bond agent loses all of the money.Circuit Judge Victoria Marks said her administrative order in October 1996 requiring the court seal is proper.
"It alleviated all the problems we experienced," Marks said.
The order basically ensured that the bonds were provided to the court and that they complied with state law, Marks said. "They had to be backed by an insurance company, and the bonding agents had to demonstrate the bond itself was proper and legitimate."
Administrative Hawaii County Judge Ronald Ibarra said a bail bond is accepted 24 hours a day on the Big Island unless it is a felony case and bail has not yet been set.
"If somebody is arrested on a felony tonight, they have to wait until tomorrow," said Ibarra. "The bail has to be set by the judge by way of a warrant."
The police chief sets the bail for misdemeanors, he said. Officers accept the bond and assign the defendant a date to appear in court. The bail bond is then filed with the court the next day, Ibarra said.
Tom Tebow, an agent with AAA Local Bail Bonds, questioned why other counties do not have the same policy as Hawaii County, adding that having the capability to bail out a person 24 hours a day relieves overcrowding in the prisons.
"As far as I know, Hawaii is the only state that accepts bail bonds, but not 24 hours, seven days a week," he said.
While the courts in Hawaii oversee the procedure of bail bonds, other agencies in Georgia and Washington enforce bail bond procedures, he said.
In Georgia the sheriff's department in each county approves all bail bond agents. The prosecutor's office in Seattle oversees the approval of bail bond agents and the structure of bail bonds.
Some bail bond companies in Hawaii have argued Hawaii's judiciary makes it difficult for them to post a bail bond.
Chris Zbiciak, a bail agent in Maui, said the only way to certify a bail bond through the court is during business hours.
"It certainly makes it difficult for someone who doesn't have that kind of cash," said Zbiciak of Bail Hawaii in Wailuku.
Those arrested have had their jobs in jeopardy and are faced with child-care issues, especially if the person arrested is a single parent, he said.
In May 1991, bail bond companies were given authority to put a seal on their own bonds. This required an authorized signature of the bail bond company representative, a seal and a certified stamp. Officers at the Honolulu Police Department would accept the bail bond 24 hours a day. The bondsman was to file a copy of the bond at either Circuit or District Court the following day.
The order expired in October 1996.
Judge Marks raised questions of whether some bail bond companies were supported by insurance companies. She said some companies were not backed by legitimate insurance companies, while others were running their businesses without any insurance.
Filing a copy of the bail bond with the court in a timely manner was another issue. Marks said there were several cases of bail bonds not being filed the next day or at all.
The judge said there was a grace period for bail bond agents to make the necessary corrections. But no action was taken, she said.
Several meetings were held in 1996 between several bail bond companies and Marks regarding the handling of bail bonds at Circuit and District Court.
"It was decided that the bonds had to be filed with the court," said Marks after the problem was not corrected. "That's how we came up with the existing procedures."
James Lindblad, owner of A-1 Bail Bonds, supported Marks' decision to have the courts control the handling of bail bonds.
"It injected legitimacy in the bail bond scene," said Lindblad, who has been in the bond business for 25 years.
There was chaos between the court and bail bond agents before the order was implemented, Lindblad said.
"Everybody knows that when they see that court seal on the bail bond, they know it's legitimate," Lindblad said. "It eliminated the confusion."
Some agents said bail bonds should be treated the same as cash.
Marks disagreed.
"It's not the same as cash," she said. If a person is arrested on a Friday and cannot make a cash bail, "then they have to wait."
Marks contended all businesses, including the courts, have business hours that the public has to comply with.
Alice Barmore of Da Kine Bail Bonds said: "They're discriminating against these people. They're violating their constitutional right that guarantees you liberty before judgment."
Some bond agents say there are people who get arrested at night, weekends and holidays when court is not in session. Partington, the Honolulu attorney, said the law of having a 24-hour bail bond is being ignored.
"It's totally and completely illegal," Partington said. "By law you're entitled to be released when bail is posted."
A judge and a court clerk are supposed to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to issue a bail bond with a seal and signature so the form can be taken to the prison to release the person, he added.
"Nobody wants to have that duty as a judge."
Police officer Derek Higa of the Honolulu Police Department said approving bail bonds during court business hours is "one of the drawbacks that we have encountered."
Higa said if a person is arrested on a Friday night and is unable to post bond, that person would have to spend a weekend in jail until the court opens Monday morning. An assigned judge stops by during the weekend to examine the records of those arrested. Those who committed a crime for the first time generally are released on their own recognizance, Higa said.
But Partington contends police deliberately wait until late Friday afternoon to make arrests because officers are aware those arrested cannot make bail until Monday.
Higa disagreed and said officers at the receiving desk inform people they can acquire a bail bond with a court seal and a file stamp by the specified court before 4 p.m. After that the only alternative is cash, Higa said.
"For us, we don't like to see them here," he said. "Obviously, it depends on what time they were arrested."