(a) All bondsman’s processes, when executed by sureties or other lawful authorized persons, shall be returned by the sheriff, chief of police, or other authorized law enforcement officer to the clerk of the court from which they were issued once the defendant is returned to the custody of the court of jurisdiction with the proper return thereon endorsed.
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Terms Used In Alabama Code 15-13-126

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • 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.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
(b) If the bondsman’s process is executed, the return shall be made within five days after service.
(c) When any writ of arrest or other warrant issued by the clerk of the court, in the same case as a bondsman’s process, to any law enforcement officer and the warrant has been executed and returned to the clerk of the court, the clerk shall notify the surety which obtained the bondsman’s process, and if the bondsman’s process has not been executed at the time of the notice, then the surety shall return the process to the clerk of the court within five days and the surety shall endorse thereon, “not executed”; or the surety after notice from the clerk, if the surety desires to be relieved of further obligation of bail, shall surrender the defendant by executing the bondsman’s process and producing it to the jailor having custody of the defendant. The sheriff or chief of police shall return it to the clerk as specified in subsection (a).
(d) In any case where the clerk of the court has issued a bondsman’s process to the surety and the case is disposed of by the court or by operation of law, the clerk of the court shall notify the surety to whom the process was issued and the surety shall return the process to the clerk of the court within five days and endorse thereon, “not executed.”
(e) Any surety who fails to comply with subsections (c) and (d) within the prescribed time, may be compelled to make the return by attachment and forfeit to the state or municipality $50. The $50 shall be paid to the clerk within three days notice of the default from the clerk. If the penalty is not paid within three days, the clerk shall not issue any further bondsman’s processes to the surety until it is paid.
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