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SPANISH FORK — Millions of dollars are spent each year to take criminals off the streets. Now a practice in Utah County has sparked a courtroom controversy involving bail bondsmen, judges and seemingly cheap bail for many jailbirds.
Take, for example, Teige Carson. He was arrested for a felony and bailed out of jail for $350.
“The $350 cash-only for my felony that I had was actually less than I had to pay for an underage alcohol ticket when I was 19 years old,” he said.
Not all bails in Utah County are as low as Carson's was. But by sifting through court records and visiting 4th District Court in Provo, KSL News identified cases where defendants who had been arrested for felonies were given an option to bail out of jail for a couple hundred dollars, which is collected by the courts.
The practice cuts bail bondsmen out of the process, they say, and is in turn harming their businesses. They believe the public should be concerned, as well.
“I’ve had more than one defendant tell me they’re just going to … move down to Utah County because if they get arrested again, they pay $250 and they’re out,” said bondsman Gordon Wright.
One bondsman has filed a formal complaint against two Utah County judges, questioning the legality of the practice.
In a letter, the court let an attorney for the bail industry know that the practice is not prohibited and there are no plans to change.
Citing Code of Judicial Conduct rules preventing judges from speaking about case-related matters, the court would not grant KSL News an interview. Court administrators did, however, send an email to KSL stating the court disagreed with the bail bondsmen’s characterization of the situation and has not experienced any problems with its bail practices.
Ultimately, this controversy may end up where it all began — in court — because bondsmen are considering a lawsuit.
