What other issues may the courts see with the changes in the Bail Forfeiture process?

Because the change in CrRLJ 3.2 requires a change in business processes for the courts, there may be a number of questions that aren't addressed in the Online Manuals or in the other eService Answers.  Below are a list of questions and answer that may help the courts.  Click on a question to be directed to the answer; click the "TOC" link to return to the list of questions.



If a citation is issued prior to July 1, 2012 can the defendant still do a Bail Forfeiture?


Yes, until July 16, 2012. After that date JIS will not allow the Bail Forfeiture (BF) Finding/Judgment Code to be entered.

Courts of limited jurisdiction (CLJ) will still be able to accept a bail forfeiture payment after July 1, 2012 on citations issued on June 30, 2012 or earlier. Because the language on the criminal misdemeanor citations provide these defendants with 15 days to pay the Bail Forfeiture or appear for a hearing, the BF Finding/Judgment code will be available for use on these citations through July 16, 2012.

Since superior court cases do not allow the defendants to ""Pay or Appear"" on bail forfeitable charges, the BF Result Code will not be extended for use past June 30, 2012.


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If a citation is issued after July 1, 2012 can the court still allow a BF?


No. The change to Court Rule CrRLJ 3.2 removes the language that previously allowed a Bail Forfeiture to be entered.  Effective July 1, 2012 Bail Forfeitures cannot be entered on a case issued  on or after July 1, 2012.

If a misdemeanor citation is filed with a court of limited jurisdiction on or after July 1, 2012 and the defendant sends in money in an attempt to do a Bail Forfeiture, the court should post the money received as actual bail using the Post Bail Bond (PBB) screen. The arraignment should be scheduled and notice of the hearing should be sent to the defendant along with a copy of the receipt for the posted bail amount. The bail amount can either be ordered released to the defendant or it can be applied to any fine amount ordered upon a finding of Guilty, however a finding of Bail Forfeiture can no longer be entered to close the case.


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Can the BF Transaction Code still be used after July 1, 2012?


Yes, the BF Transaction Code will still be available for use in the Receipt Payment (RCP) screen.  As of July 1, 2012, when BF is used on a receipt the amount of the payment will be deducted from the Accounts Receivable and a docket entry will be generated to state that a Bail Forfeiture was receipted. No Plea/Sentence (PLS) or Case Disposition (CSD) actions will occur.


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How does a Bail Forfeiture need to be entered in JIS on a citation issued prior to July 1, 2012?


If a Bail Forfeiture (BF) payment is receipted using the BF Transaction Code after July 1, 2012 it will no longer enter the Finding/Judgment Code of BF on all charges and close the case when payment in full is receipted.  CLJ courts will need to manually complete the rest of the entries to document that the Bail Forfeiture was granted.

BF manual entry steps:


  • Go to the RCP screen to receipt the payment.  Verify the BF Transaction Code is listed and receipt the payment.
  • Go to the Plea/Sentence (PLS) screen and add the code BF on each charge along with the Finding/Judgment Date. 
  • Go to the Case Disposition (CSD) screen and manually close the case.

    NOTE: The Finding/Judgment Date MUST be July 16, 2012 or earlier in order for the BF code to work.


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Will receipting a Bail Forfeiture in the Receipt Payment (RCP) screen still process the Bail Forfeiture after July 1, 2012?


The BF Transaction Code will remain available for use, but effective July 1, 2012 it will behave the same as receipting a payment with the Fine Payment (FP) Transaction Code.  The amount paid will be reduced from the Accounts Receivable balance and a docket entry will be made to state that a Bail Forfeiture payment was made.  However, it will no longer enter the Finding/Judgment Code of BF on all charges and close the case when payment in full is receipted.

NOTE: The BF Transaction Code will continue to add the BF Finding/Judgment on all charges and close the case when it's paid in full through June 30, 2012.

See the instructions under ""How does a Bail Forfeiture need to be entered in JIS on a citation issued prior to July 1, 2012"" for instructions on completing the BF process manually.


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If a criminal citation is amended to an infraction how should it be indicated on the 2012 Uniform Criminal Citation?


The new Uniform Criminal Citation form has extra space available in the ""Findings"" section where the Bail Forfeiture (BF) code used to display.  Courts can add a C for ""Committed"" in the available space to document that a charge amended to an infraction is committed.  A copy of the memo sent to the courts with a copy of the new form is attached at the bottom of this answer.


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See also:



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