Bail Jumping for Beginners in Washington State

SALTO LEASE:

In Washington State, a person commits the crime of “Bail Jumping” if they have been released on bail or bail and knowing that they must return to court for a later hearing. Revised Code of Washington 9A.76.170 (1). A person is also guilty of skipping bail if they are aware of the requirement to report to a correctional facility to serve a sentence and fail to do so. ID. In simple terms, if you are charged with a crime and do not show up to court when you know you are supposed to, or if you do not show up to jail (or prison) to serve your sentence when you know you are, you is guilty of the crime of skipping bail.

The crime of skipping bail can be a felony or a misdemeanor. The class, or level, of the bail jumping charge depends on the offense you are originally charged with and for which you do not appear. The bail break is:

(a) A class A felony if the person was arrested, charged with, or convicted of murder in the first degree;

(b) A class B felony if the person was arrested, charged with, or convicted of a class A felony other than murder in the first degree;

(c) A class C felony if the person was arrested, charged with, or convicted of a class B or C felony;

(d) A misdemeanor if the person was arrested, charged with, or convicted of a felony misdemeanor or misdemeanor.

Revised Code of Washington 9A.76.170 (3).

DEFENSES:

Is there any defense to rescue the jump? Yes. There is an affirmative defense. An affirmative defense means that you admit that you committed the act, but that it was legally justified. The defense is established in the bail bond statute. It states:

It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section.

what uncontrollable circumstances prevented the person

show up or give up, and that the person did not contribute

to the creation of such circumstances in reckless disregard of the

requirement to appear or surrender, and that the person appeared

or surrendered as soon as such circumstances ceased to exist.

Revised Code of Washington 9A.76.170 (2).

The question is: What is considered “uncontrollable circumstances”? Uncontrollable circumstances mean that you have no control over the circumstances that caused you to miss court. An act of God can qualify. For example, if you lose your hearing because a tornado picks up your car (or you) and smashes it (or you) to the ground, then you may have a pretty good defense that you missed your court date due to uncontrollable circumstances. . If you’re in the hospital, that may qualify if you can get a note from your doctor that you were hospitalized and couldn’t go to court. However, be careful, if you were in the hospital for something you did, the prosecutor may argue that you “contributed to the creation of such circumstances.” If you are kidnapped and held hostage, that can also qualify as a defense. Whatever uncontrollable circumstance is preventing you from getting to your court date, just make sure that as soon as you can, you sign up for the court calendar to meet the requirement to appear or surrender as soon as your uncontrollable circumstance ceases. . exist.

There may be other defenses that fall under the category “burden of proof.” That means that the tax authority simply does not have sufficient evidence to prove each element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. For example, they may not have any record that you were notified of the required date in court and therefore were unable to prove the item of knowledge.

However, generally speaking, proving a bail bond charge is relatively easy for prosecutors. All they need is 1) a certified copy of the promise to appear in court on the specific day that it was signed by the defendant when they received the court date, and 2) a witness, such as a court clerk who can testify in the On the date the defendant’s appearance was required, the court record indicates that he did not appear.

A copy of the promise to appear signed by the defendant demonstrates knowledge of the requirement to appear. In the county where I practice, the language in the order establishing the next mandatory court date reads:

Defendant ordered to appear at all Fit for Trial hearings

[a pretrial or status hearing]… The lack of appearance of the accused

at trial or in the setting for trial or any other hearing established by the

The court may result in the issuance of a court order, loss of

Bail and / or criminal prosecution for Bail Jumping in accordance with

Revised Code of Washington 9A.76.170.

An accusation of jumping bail can be very difficult to defend. Simply forgetting your short date is not a defense. Division Two of the Washington State Court of Appeals held that, based on a simple reading of the statute, “I forgot” is not a defense. The prosecution only has to show that it was aware of the court date, not that it was aware of the date every day thereafter.

For the defense attorney, they must research the law and the records of the case. They must determine if the hearing was one in which the defendant was required to appear. There are different types of hearings and not all of them require mandatory appearances. They must investigate and determine whether the defendant was actually aware of the requirement to appear at the hearing and, if so, whether there is any actual evidence to prove it. Is there a living witness like a clerk that the prosecution will call? Should a certified copy of a signed promise appear? Finally, they must investigate the reason for the failure to appear and determine if it was an “uncontrollable circumstance.”

SENTENCES FOR JUMPING DEPOSITS:

As stated above, forfeiture of bail is a misdemeanor if the defendant “was arrested, charged, or convicted of a misdemeanor or felony misdemeanor.” Revised Code of Washington 9A.76.170 (3) (d). The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor is 90 days in jail and a fine of $ 1000. In those cases, the sentencing judge has the authority to sentence the bail jumper from 0 to 90 days in jail and up to a fine of $ 1000. In addition, the defendant may be paroled and required to pay probation fees.

If the bail jumping offense falls into one of the felony classes, it gets a bit more complicated. In Washington, the sentencing scheme basically works on a grid system. The vertical edge of the grid is the “seriousness level.” The horizontal border is the “offender’s score”. There are 16 levels of seriousness in the Washington system. Level sixteen has only one offense: first degree aggravated murder. The only two penalties for that offense are life in prison without the possibility of parole and the death penalty, regardless of your offender score. The lowest level of seriousness is one. That level includes crimes such as Burglary in the second degree (theft of property valued between $ 750 and $ 5000) and Counterfeiting. The offender score consists of scoring prior felony convictions. When you determine the severity level of the offense and the offender’s score, you will find the “standard range” sentence that the court must impose. There are exceptions to imposing a sentence within the standard range, but that’s a discussion for another day. Generally, the court must impose a sentence within the standard range. If that happens, no one can appeal that sentence. If the court imposes an “exceptional” sentence outside the standard range, either party can appeal.

Bail Jumping on a first degree murder charge has a severity level of six. With an offender score of 0 (zero), the standard sentence range is twelve months plus one day (meaning imprisonment) to fourteen months. The offender’s score only reaches nine on the sentencing grid. Any value greater than nine will fall into the standard range for an offender score of nine. The standard range for bail bail with first degree murder with a delinquent score of nine is 77 to 102 months in prison.

Bail Jumping on an original charge of a Class A felony has a severity level of Five. The standard sentence range begins with 6 to 12 at your local county jail. For an offender score of more than nine, the range is 72 to 96 months in prison.

Finally, Bail Jumping on a Class B or C felony has a severity level of Three. With an offender score of 0, the range is one to three months in jail. The range for an offender score of more than nine is 51 to 60 months. Sixty months, or five years, is the maximum sentence.

CONCLUSION:

As you can see, the crime of skipping bail is easy to commit. If you simply forget your brief appointment, you can be charged and convicted of skipping bail. You can also see that it is easy for the prosecution to prove and difficult for the defense to defend, and the consequences are severe.

So the word to the wise is DON’T MISS THE COURT! The wise man will not even be late. If they call you by name and you are not there, you run the risk of being issued a no-show, an arrest warrant, and a bail bond charge. Help in their defense, not in their prosecution; don’t miss your short date.

About the author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *