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Terms Used In Alabama Code 15-13-130

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • 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.
  • 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.

The basis of all undertakings of bail, whether upon a warrant, writ of arrest, suspension of judgment, writ of error, or in any other case, is to ensure the appearance of the defendant in court, and the undertaking is forfeited by the failure of the defendant to appear.

If, by reason of the neglect of the defendant to appear, money is deposited as cash bail and is forfeited and the forfeiture is not discharged or remitted, the clerk with whom it is deposited shall, at the end of 30 days, unless the court has before that time discharged the forfeiture, pay over the money deposited to the officer, official, or employee authorized by law to receive fines levied by the court. The court shall then, without any notice to defendant, render judgment absolute for the entire sum deposited and the money shall then become public money of the State General Fund or in bail forfeiture cases pending in the municipal courts the sums shall become public money of the municipality. The state shall remit one-half of the funds it receives to the county in which the defendant was charged. The funds shall be deposited into the general fund of the county and used for the maintenance and operation of the county jail.