Relates to a bail bond secured by real property

BILL NUMBER:S3947

Title of bill

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to a bail bond secured by real property

This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of her Advisory Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure.

This measure would amend section 500.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law to add a further, more streamlined, way to determine the value of real property used in a secured bail bond.

A "secured bail bond" is a bail bond secured by either personal property or "real property having a value of at least twice the amount of the undertaking" (CPL 500.10(17)). Under the present statute, valuing real property involves a complex process that uses the "equalization rate or special assessing unit...of the assessing municipality wherein the property is situated." This rate varies from municipality to municipality and is not readily understood by criminal practitioners or court personnel staffing local criminal courts. At a minimum, the procedure requires the obligor to file an affidavit with the court and to present proof from the city register or county clerk where the property is located showing the last assessed value, the lot, the block and the owner. The obligor must also produce the deed, a copy of the last mortgage statement and a print out from an appropriate clerk showing that there are no tax liens or other encumbrances on the property. Where the real property is not located in the same county as the court, delays are common as the necessary paper work is obtained by the obligor and then verified by the court.

One consequence of this procedural complexity is that many defendants resort to using a bail bondsman. Bail bondsmen are not required to use any particular method to determine the value of the collateral, and there is no requirement that the property be worth twice the value of the bail that will be posted (see People v. Imran, 193 Misc.2d 746 (Crim Ct, NY County 2002)). Thus, by having a poorly understood system to value real property, defendants and their families are often subject to significant cost simply to avoid the bureaucratic hardship of posting real property with the court.

This measure would add a second method for determining the value of real property when posting a securing bail bond. It allows an obligor to file an appraisal report certified by a duly licensed state certified general real estate appraiser as evidence of the value of the real property. Moreover, it allows the obligor to present a lien search from a licensed title insurance company as presumptive proof of any liens or encumbrances on the property.

This measure, which would have no meaningful fiscal impact on the State, would take effect immediately.

2011 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None. New proposal

Effective date

Immediately.