Title PEN — California Penal Code

(a) It is not a violation of this article to disseminate statistical or research information obtained from a record, provided that the identity of the subject of the record is not disclosed. (b) It is not a violation of this article to disseminate information obtained from a reco…

Admission to bail is the order of a competent Court or magistrate that the defendant be discharged from actual custody upon bail. (Enacted 1872.)

The taking of bail consists in the acceptance, by a competent court or magistrate, of the undertaking of sufficient bail for the appearance of the defendant, according to the terms of the undertaking, or that the bail will pay to the people of this state a specified sum. Upon fil…

Except as otherwise provided by law, no defendant charged in a warrant of arrest with any public offense shall be discharged from custody upon bail except upon a written order of a competent court or magistrate admitting the defendant to bail in the amount specified in the indors…

(a) The officer in charge of a jail in which an arrested person is held in custody, an officer of a sheriff’s department or police department of a city who is in charge of a jail or is employed at a fixed police or sheriff’s facility and is acting under an agreement with the agen…

If a defendant is arrested without a warrant for a bailable felony offense or for the misdemeanor offense of violating a domestic violence restraining order, and a peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that the amount of bail set forth in the schedule of bail for that off…

(a) Any person who has been arrested for, or charged with, an offense other than a capital offense may be released on his or her own recognizance by a court or magistrate who could release a defendant from custody upon the defendant giving bail, including a defendant arrested upo…

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (e), before a person who is arrested for any of the following crimes may be released on bail in an amount that is either more or less than the amount contained in the schedule of bail for the offense, or may be released on the person’s own re…

When a person is detained in custody on a criminal charge prior to conviction for want of bail, that person is entitled to an automatic review of the order fixing the amount of the bail by the judge or magistrate having jurisdiction of the offense. That review shall be held not l…

A defendant charged with an offense punishable with death cannot be admitted to bail, when the proof of his or her guilt is evident or the presumption thereof great. The finding of an indictment does not add to the strength of the proof or the presumptions to be drawn therefrom.

If the charge is for any other offense, he may be admitted to bail before conviction, as a matter of right. (Enacted 1872.)

After conviction of an offense not punishable with death or life without the possibility of parole, a defendant who has made application for probation or who has appealed may be admitted to bail: (a) As a matter of right, before judgment is pronounced pending application for prob…

Release on bail pending appeal under subdivision (3) of Section 1272 shall be ordered by the court if the defendant demonstrates all the following: (a) By clear and convincing evidence, the defendant is not likely to flee. Under this subdivision the court shall consider the follo…

If the offense is bailable, the defendant may be admitted to bail before conviction: First—For his appearance before the magistrate, on the examination of the charge, before being held to answer. Second—To appear at the Court to which the magistrate is required to return the depo…

When the admission to bail is a matter of discretion, the Court or officer to whom the application is made must require reasonable notice thereof to be given to the District Attorney of the county. (Enacted 1872.)

(a) (1) In setting, reducing, or denying bail, a judge or magistrate shall take into consideration the protection of the public, the seriousness of the offense charged, the previous criminal record of the defendant, and the probability of his or her appearing at trial or at a hea…

(a) Bail, pursuant to this chapter, shall not be accepted unless a judge or magistrate finds that no portion of the consideration, pledge, security, deposit, or indemnification paid, given, made, or promised for its execution was feloniously obtained. (b) A hold on the release of…

(a) A bail bond or undertaking of bail of an admitted surety insurer shall be accepted or approved by a court or magistrate without further acknowledgment if executed by a licensed bail agent of the insurer under penalty of perjury and issued in the name of the insurer by a perso…

(a) On and after January 1, 2022, no insurer, bail agent, or other bail licensee shall enter into a contract, agreement, or undertaking of bail that requires the payment of more than one premium for the duration of the agreement, and the duration of the agreement shall be until b…

(a) At the time of an initial application to a bail bond licensee for a bail bond which is to be secured by a lien against real property, the bail bond licensee shall provide the property owner with a written disclosure statement in the following form:“DISCLOSURE OF LIEN AGAINST …

When the defendant has been held to answer upon an examination for a public offense, the admission to bail may be by the magistrate by whom he is so held, or by any magistrate who has power to issue the writ of habeas corpus. (Enacted 1872.)

(a) Bail is put in by a written undertaking, executed by two sufficient sureties (with or without the defendant, in the discretion of the magistrate), and acknowledged before the court or magistrate, in substantially the following form: An order having been made on the ____ day o…

The qualifications of bail are as follows:

The bail must in all cases justify by affidavit taken before the magistrate, that they each possess the qualifications provided in the preceding section. The magistrate may further examine the bail upon oath concerning their sufficiency, in such manner as he may deem proper. (Ena…

(a) From the time of recording an affidavit for the justification of bail, the affidavit shall constitute an attachment lien governed by Sections 488.500, 488.510 and 489.310 of the Code of Civil Procedure in the amount of the bail undertaking, until exonerated, released, or othe…

All affidavits for the justification of bail shall set forth the amount of the bail undertaking, a notice that the affidavit shall constitute a lien upon the real property described in the affidavit immediately upon the recordation of the affidavit with the county recorder pursua…

It shall be the duty of the judge or magistrate to file with the clerk of the court, within 24 hours after presentation to him or her, all affidavits for the justification of bail, by delivering or mailing them to the clerk of the court. Certified copies of the affidavits for jus…

Upon the allowance of bail and the execution and approval of the undertaking, the magistrate must, if the defendant is in custody, make and sign an order for his discharge, upon the delivery of which to the proper officer the defendant must be discharged.

A judge of the superior court within the county, wherein a cause is pending against any person charged with a felony, may justify and approve bail in the said cause, and may execute an order for the release of the defendant which shall authorize the discharge of the defendant by …

When the offense charged is not punishable with death, the officer serving the bench warrant must, if required, take the defendant before a magistrate in the county in which it is issued, or in which he is arrested, for the purpose of giving bail. If the defendant appears before …

If the offense charged is punishable with death, the officer arresting the defendant must deliver him into custody, according to the command of the bench warrant.

When the defendant is so delivered into custody he must be held by the Sheriff, unless admitted to bail on examination upon a writ of habeas corpus. (Enacted 1872.)

(a) The bail shall be put in by a written undertaking, executed by two sufficient sureties (with or without the defendant, in the discretion of the court or magistrate), and acknowledged before the court or magistrate, in substantially the following form: An indictment having bee…

The provisions contained in sections 1279, 1280, 1280a and 1281, in relation to bail before indictment, apply to bail after indictment.

After a defendant has been admitted to bail upon an indictment or information, the Court in which the charge is pending may, upon good cause shown, either increase or reduce the amount of bail. If the amount be increased, the Court may order the defendant to be committed to actua…

In the cases in which defendant may be admitted to bail upon an appeal, the order admitting him to bail may be made by any Magistrate having the power to issue a writ of habeas corpus, or by the Magistrate before whom the trial was had.

The bail must possess the qualifications, and must be put in, in all respects, as provided in Article II of this Chapter, except that the undertaking must be conditioned as prescribed in Section 1273, for undertakings of bail on appeal. (Enacted 1872.)

(a) The defendant, or any other person, at any time after an order admitting defendant to bail or after the arrest and booking of a defendant for having committed a misdemeanor, instead of giving bail may deposit, with the clerk of the court in which the defendant is held to answ…

If the defendant has given bail, he may, at any time before the forfeiture of the undertaking, in like manner deposit the sum mentioned in the recognizance, and upon the deposit being made the bail is exonerated. (Enacted 1872.)

When money has been deposited, a receipt shall be issued in the name of the depositor. If the money remains on deposit at the time of a judgment for the payment of a fine, the clerk shall, under the direction of the court, if the defendant be the depositor, apply the money in sat…

In lieu of a deposit of money, the defendant or any other person may deposit bonds of the United States or of the State of California of the face value of the cash deposit required, and these bonds shall be treated in the same manner as a deposit of money or the defendant or any …

This article shall be known as the Bail Fugitive Recovery Persons Act.

(a) For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) “Bail fugitive” means a defendant in a pending criminal case who has been released from custody under a financially secured appearance, cash, or other bond and has had that bond declared …

(a) No person, other than a certified law enforcement officer, shall be authorized to apprehend, detain, or arrest a bail fugitive unless that person meets one of the following conditions: (1) Is a bail as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1299.01 who is also…

(a) A bail fugitive recovery agent, bail agent, bail permittee, or bail solicitor who contracts their services to another bail agent or surety as a bail fugitive recovery agent for the purposes specified in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 1299.01, and any bail agent, …

In performing a bail fugitive apprehension, an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall comply with all laws applicable to that apprehension.

Before apprehending a bail fugitive, an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall have in his or her possession proper documentation of authority to apprehend issued by the bail or depositor of bail as prescribed in Sections 1300 and 1301. The au…

(a) An individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall not represent themselves in any manner as being a sworn law enforcement officer. (b) An individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall not wear any uniform that represe…

(a) Except under exigent circumstances, an individual authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall, prior to and no more than six hours before attempting to apprehend the bail fugitive, notify the local police department or sheriff’s department of the intent t…

An individual, authorized by Section 1299.02 to apprehend a bail fugitive shall not forcibly enter a premises except as provided for in Section 844.