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Machine bypasses bail bondsmen
3.04 p.m. ET (1904 GMT) October 4, 1998
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Who needs a bail bondsman to get out of jail?
Starting this week, Santa Clara County will offer some suspects an interactive
kiosk where they can use a credit card to get out of the slammer within minutes of
being booked.
It's like an automatic teller machine, but instead of dispensing cash it grants instant
access out of jail.
The heaviest use is expected from those arrested for relatively minor crimes with
bails under $5,000 — well within the limit many people carry on their credit
cards. Crimes will include vandalism, assault, drunken driving and drug
possession.
Defendants get the basic bail amount back from the county once the case is
resolved — as long as they show up in court. If they use a bail bond agent or the
kiosk, they pay a $500, nonrefundable fee.
County officials said the bail kiosks will reduce taxpayer costs and jail
overcrowding.
Bail bondsmen hate the idea, claiming the service is illegal because it's not
state-licensed, like they must be. They also complain the it's unfair competition.
"The first time I heard about this was last week, and I was flabbergasted,'' said
Ted Wallace, president of the Santa Clara County Professional Bail Association.
"We're definitely investigating our legal options.''
Judicial Solutions, the company that operates the kiosk, said it doesn't need a
license because it doesn't put up money for defendants, just enables them to tap
into their own credit lines.
"It's a fairly political product because the bail industry has had it to themselves for
240 years,'' said John Bergmann, president of Judicial Solutions. "But we're
definitely not bailing out O.J. Simpson; we're taking the crumbs.''
San Luis Obispo, whose jail population of 500 inmates is about one-tenth the size
of Santa Clara County's, has had a kiosk for four months. It is used mostly to
post small bail amounts, but bail bond agents there also are upset.
"We're prohibited by state law from advertising in the jails, yet there is this kiosk
in the lobby that every 15 minutes or so announces that you can use it to post
bail,'' said Todd Dolezal, an agent with San Luis Bail Bonds.
© 1998 Associated Press.
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