One thing that we get asked pretty often at Amistad is about situations in which the premium charged to the defendant isn’t returned. Basically, in most situations, if the defendant is surrendered to the courts, the premium will not be returned, but there are a few select scenarios where this may not be the case. Outlining the most common situations where the premium will not be returned is a great way to inform the people of North Carolina just how this process works, and these situations are:

• Address change without notification – An address change without notification to a surety is one way that a defendant may be surrendered back to the courts without a return of the premium charged. Since bail can be considered a guarantee that a defendant will appear in court, moving without notification can be considered a breach of this agreement, and the premium on the bail will then kept.

• Hiding from surety – Hiding from a surety, or not keeping contact with a surety, can be thought of as a big risk when it comes to not showing up for an appointed court date, and this will often lead to the defendant being surrendered to the courts without a return of the bail premium.

• Leaving state without permission – Before leaving the state, the defendant must notify the surety and gain permission to do so. At Amistad, we realize that family and personal matters may cause a person to have to leave the state of North Carolina for any number of reasons, but doing so without surety communication can lead to the defendant being surrendered back to the courts.

• Violating court orders – Court orders will often come along with posting bail, and failing to follow these court orders is one way in which a person may be surrendered back to the courts without a return of their premium. For this reason, it’s important that defendants carefully read over and follow their court orders in an effort to ensure they remain out of jail until their court appearance arrives.

While these are just a few of the common scenarios in which a person may be surrendered back to the courts without a return on their premium, they are some of the most common. In most circumstances, being returned to the courts will result in the premium being kept, but if you have additional questions about the bail process or a court surrender, simply contact us at Amistad today.