When we think of the “bounty hunter,” we might think of those spaghetti western movie posters that offered rewards for finding and capturing a criminal “dead or alive.” In those movies, the sheriff was looking for the person with a bounty on his head and hired someone like Clint Eastwood to find and bring the fugitive to justice. It was his job as a bounty hunter to capture and return the fugitive to legal authorities for a sack of gold coins. Although the days of hanging by the high justice of the Wild West are long gone, the use of the bounty hunter is still a very important part of our legal system today.
One such reality television show, “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” has renewed interest in this dangerous occupation. In that show, Duane “Dog” Chapman is a real-life bounty hunter in Hawaii hired to track down and capture fugitives for a price. Dog is a staff member at a bail bond agency who actually helps those accused of a crime avoid spending time in jail by helping them post bail. The problem occurs when someone “jumps” or skips bail, which means that he did not appear in court as ordered. It then becomes the bounty dog’s job to find and get the defendant back to jail or else the bail bond agency must lose the money they sent to court. Although, Chapman’s show is a “reality show” and we all know how “real” that is. If a bail bond agency had to send out a bounty hunter, as often as Dog does, the bail bondsman would be out of business in no time!
The legal basis for bounty hunting is found in the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution authored by our founding fathers. This amendment guarantees citizens the legal right to bail established by the criminal justice system. A bail bondsman is a person who works for or represents a bail bond company that provides the money for bail set by the courts. An accused and arrested person may post bail in full or go through a bail bondsman who charges a fee which is usually a certain percentage of the bail amount as allowed by law. Posting or posting bail allows the defendant to remain free with the stipulation that they comply with all bail conditions which can sometimes include not physically leaving the geographical jurisdiction of the courts or even the country if considered a risk of drain. The bail amount is set as a guarantee on behalf of the accused that he or she will appear at all hearings and court dates related to the crime charged.
The amount of bail set by the courts depends on the crime, prior arrests, criminal history, and the circumstances of the arrest based on a schedule set by the county where the crime was committed. The judge who sets the bail will use this schedule as a guide, but has considerable discretion in setting the bail amount. For example, in the state of California, each county has established its own bail schedule depending on the crime.
Bounty hunters are often employed by bail bond companies because it is their responsibility if the defendant they are posting bail for fails to comply with court orders. It is in the bail bondsman’s best interest to capture or “recapture” the fugitive because he should forfeit the bail amount rather than recover it and collect the fee from him. Hence, the reason why bounty hunters are often called bail fugitive recovery agents. In the State of California, bounty hunters must be certified and licensed by the Department of Insurance.