77-20-402. Payment of monetary bail to court — Specific payment methods — Refund of monetary bail.
(1)
Subject to Subsection (2), a defendant may choose to post the amount of monetary bail imposed by a judge or magistrate by any of the following methods:
Terms Used In Utah Code 77-20-402
Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
Forfeiture: means :
(a)
to divest an individual or surety from a right to the repayment of monetary bail; or
(b)
to enforce a pledge of assets or real or personal property from an individual or surety used to secure an individual's pretrial release. See Utah Code 77-20-102
Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
Surety: means a surety insurer or a bail bond agency. See Utah Code 77-20-102
Unsecured bond: means an individual's promise to pay a financial condition if the individual fails to appear for any required court appearance. See Utah Code 77-20-102
by an unsecured bond, at the discretion of the judge or magistrate; or
(d)
by credit or debit card, at the discretion of the judge or magistrate.
(2)
A judge or magistrate may limit a defendant to a specific method of posting monetary bail described in Subsection (1):
(a)
if, after charges are filed, the defendant fails to appear in the case on a bail bond and the case involves a violent offense;
(b)
in order to allow the defendant to voluntarily remit the fine in accordance with Section 77-7-21 and the offense with which the defendant is charged is listed in the shared master offense table as one for which an appearance is not mandatory;
(c)
if the defendant has failed to respond to a citation or summons and the offense with which the defendant is charged is listed in the shared master offense table as one for which an appearance is not mandatory;
(d)
if a warrant is issued for the defendant solely for failure to pay a criminal accounts receivable, as defined in Section 77-32b-102, and the defendant’s monetary bail is limited to the amount owed; or
(e)
if a court has entered a judgment of bail bond forfeiture under Section 77-20-505 in any case involving the defendant.
(3)
Monetary bail may not be accepted without receiving in writing at the time the bail is posted the current mailing address, telephone number, and email address of the surety.
(4)
Monetary bail posted by debit or credit card, less the fee charged by the financial institution, shall be tendered to the courts.
(5)
(a)
Monetary bail refunded by the court may be refunded by credit to the debit or credit card or in cash.
(b)
The amount refunded shall be the full amount received by the court under Subsection (4), which may be less than the full amount of the monetary bail set by the judge or magistrate.
(c)
Before refunding monetary bail that is posted by the defendant in cash, by credit card, or by debit card, the court may apply the amount posted toward a criminal accounts receivable, as defined in Section 77-32b-102, that is owed by the defendant in the priority set forth in Section 77-38b-304.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 4, 2021 Special Session 2
