Virginia PreTrail Services

http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local ... full.story

Hey Bill, whats up with this?

Good question, I just became aware of the article.

Having read this article and being associated with one of the contributors in the article...Stephen L. Grobel, a Hampton attorney and bail bondsman, who also happens to be my attorney and my general agent... I can only contribute that this is absolutely happening, not just in Virginia but across the country.

It is a complicated and extremely important issue that has many intricate points.

I hope this thread stays active because we as bondsmen and recovery agents need to get deeply involved in our support or we will all be looking for a job.

Before I can comment further, I personally will have to do a fair amount of reading and try to find out more on the direction of this trend.

I hope that anyone having a factual educated response and wishes to contribute in any manner, will jump in and offer their points and advise, pro and con are welcome because, as with any issue, we need to know both sides of the issue and from each perspective.

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Hey moderators.... can we move this to "Open Discussion" so it is viewable by the general public... I have a number of unregistered friends that may be able to read and have an interest in this.... I figure Open Discussion would be available to persons that want to read but may not want to register. "Media Coverage" for some reason can't be opened although it does say........... Public forum??

... and also this related article...
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local ... 0744.story

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Another problem is the 10% bonds to the court. And in a case like VA, where an attorney can also be a bondsman, that will get to be a real problem. These type bonds here are a cash cow for attorneys anyway. Judges set bonds high until they retain an attorney. Then set the bond at 10x whatever the attorney fee is, but set it 10% to the court. Then the money is put up in the attorneys name and the money goes to the attorney when the case is over.

This makes being a mouthpiece and a bondsman a big conflict of intrest. If its legal in VA, I can promise you it wont be long til they figure out that scam and we will be out.

I don't think it is legal in VA... there are attorneys however that own controlling interests in Bonding companies, like my GA for example but I do not think he is licensed with DCJS as a bondsman or cannot represent who he bonds... I may be mistaken on this....... I will check it out and post the correct answer.

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Moved to open discussion..

_________________
After all is said and done, more is said than done.



-X-
St. Louis, MO
FRN#2
Member of The C.B.C

Thanks BILL!
Could not have said it any better.
Infact while reading both articles the above quote is what came to my mind.
We all know that "we" are a NON cost to the Taxpayers.
Ya'll need to be figuring the costs of the drug tests (25$ here) that are going to be required, and the costs of the folks administering same (will need an additional State Employee, as the current ones are already covered up), and monitoring the "alleged" criminals( will need an additional State Employee, as the current ones are already covered up), as well as the costs of the LE that will have to be put in place to return them to Jail.
But then we all, also, know that the only way an individual is returned to Jail via LE is most often quite by accident (literally), most often due to a stupid error made by a driver ending in a traffic stop OR a phone call regarding a Domestic

_________________


Do not consider anything for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face .... Marcus Antonius

I AM Some Folks "KARMA" and A MODERATOR @ FRN

Received this am an email from my attorney/GA... he is a licensed practicing attorney and a licensed bondsman in Virginia... a portion of his email is as follows:

" I am fully licensed as an attorney and bondsman. Legal ethics opinions in Virginia say that an attorney can be a bondsman as long as they don't represent anyone they get out on bail. That could present a serious conflict. I don't do any criminal work, only plaintiff personal injury and the legal work associated with bail. I write bonds in jurisdictions where I do not regularly appear as an attorney, that is, mainly ****and ****.

Some states have laws that prohibit attorneys from being bondsmen. Texas allows it, I believe. When the recent bondsman laws were being promulgated one of my bail enemies tried to get a statute that prohibited this dual role in Virginia. He lost."

That is factual info which should answer the question posed.

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

Its been illegal in MO for several years. This past fall I have been on a committee and we rewrote some of the law to put to legislation. If it passes, it will actually relax the law a little on this. An attorney can be a bondsman only if his law license is inactive.

Attornys are a pretty tight brotherhood. Im not sayin your GA is a crook or anything, but my first thought would be that it would be pretty damned easy for an atty to go to another one and get all of their bonds on criminal cases before that atty would give them to a bondsman who wasnt an atty.

I dont trust em.

Now, now Andy my boy.... attorneys are sort of like bondmen and bounty hunters.... there are a few good ones around... sometimes you just have to look closer...

... and there is one small point that I might mention here.... attorneys and bondsmen and most other like occupations we deal with... although a tight group... are controlled by a characteristic that tends to keep them separate for the most part.... JEALOUSY.

When you inject that word into the relationship, it tends to make each member of the particular group a bit... shall we say, "keep it close to the hip"... in other words, there may be some that are tight with each other on the surface but you can bet your farm that if money, bonds, business comes in... they will keep it close to their own back pocket and the "share" word tends to drift.

Do you get my drift?

_________________
Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"