§ 520.20 — Bail and bail bonds; posting of bail bond and justifying affidavits; form and contents thereof

New York § 520.20

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law CPL: Criminal Procedure
• Title P: Procedures For Securing Attendance At Criminal Actions and Proceedings of Defendants and Witnesses Under Control of Court--recognizance, Bail and Commitment
• Part 3: Special Proceedings and Miscellaneous Procedures
• Art. 520: Bail and Bail Bonds

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§ 520.20 Bail and bail bonds; posting of bail bond and justifying\n affidavits; form and contents thereof.\n 1. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) when a bail bond is to be\nposted in satisfaction of bail, the obligor or obligors must submit to\nthe court a bail bond in the amount fixed, executed in the form\nprescribed in subdivision two, accompanied by a justifying affidavit of\neach obligor, executed in the form prescribed in subdivision four.\n (b) When a bail bond is to be posted in satisfaction of bail fixed for\na defendant charged by information or simplified information or\nprosecutor's information with one or more traffic infractions and no\nother offense, the defendant may submit to the court, with the consent\nof the court, an insurance company bail bond covering the amount fixed,\nexecuted in a form prescribed by the superintendent of financial\nservices.\n 2. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of subdivision one, a bail bond\nmust be subscribed and sworn to by each obligor and must state:\n (a) The name, residential address and occupation of each obligor; and\n (b) The title of the criminal action or proceeding involved; and\n (c) The offense or offenses which are the subjects of the action or\nproceeding involved, and the status of such action or proceeding; and\n (d) The name of the principal and the nature of his involvement in or\nconnection with such action or proceeding; and\n (e) That the obligor, or the obligors jointly and severally, undertake\nthat the principal will appear in such action or proceeding whenever\nrequired and will at all times render himself amenable to the orders and\nprocesses of the court; and\n (f) That in the event that the principal does not comply with any such\nrequirement, order or process, such obligor or obligors will pay to the\npeople of the state of New York a designated sum of money fixed by the\ncourt.\n 3. A bail bond posted in the course of a criminal action is effective\nand binding upon the obligor or obligors until the imposition of\nsentence or other termination of the action, regardless of whether the\naction is dismissed in the local criminal court after an indictment on\nthe same charge or charges by a superior court, and regardless of\nwhether such action is partially conducted or prosecuted in a court or\ncourts other than the one in which the action was pending when such bond\nwas posted, unless prior to such termination such order of bail is\nvacated or revoked or the principal is surrendered, or unless the terms\nof such bond expressly limit its effectiveness to a lesser period;\nprovided, however, the effectiveness of such bond may only be limited to\na lesser period if the obligor or obligors submit notice of the\nlimitation to the court and the district attorney not less than fourteen\ndays before effectiveness ends.\n 4. A justifying affidavit must be subscribed and sworn to by the\nobligor-affiant and must state his name, residential address and\noccupation. Depending upon the kind of bail bond which it justifies,\nsuch affidavit must contain further statements as follows:\n (a) An affidavit justifying an insurance company bail bond must state:\n (i) The amount of the premium paid to the obligor; and\n (ii) All security and all promises of indemnity received by the\nsurety-obligor in connection with its execution of the bond, and the\nname, occupation and residential and business addresses of every person\nwho has given any such indemnifying security or promise.\n An action by the surety-obligor against an indemnitor, seeking\nretention of security deposited by the latter with the former or\nenforcement of any indemnity agreement of a kind described in this\nsub-paragraph, will not lie except with respect to agreements and\nsecurity specified in the justifying affidavit.\n (b) An affidavit justifying a secured bail bond must state every item\nof personal property deposited and of real property pledged as security,\nthe value of each such item, and the nature and amount of every lien or\nencumbrance thereon.\n (c) An affidavit justifying a partially secured bail bond or an\nunsecured bail bond must state the place and nature of the\nobligor-affiant's business or employment, the length of time he has been\nengaged therein, his income during the past year, and his average income\nover the past five years.\n