LB282 LB282
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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 282
Introduced by Hansen, M., 26; Cavanaugh, 6.
Read first time January 15, 2019
Committee: Judiciary
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to bail; to amend section 29-901, Revised
2 Statutes Cumulative Supplement, 2018; to change provisions relating
3 to granting of bail in cases involving certain misdemeanors or
4 violations of city or county ordinances; to require appointment of
5 counsel; to harmonize provisions; and to repeal the original
6 section.
7 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 29-901, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
2 2018, is amended to read:
3 29-901 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, any
4 Any bailable defendant shall be ordered released from custody pending
5 judgment on his or her personal recognizance unless the judge determines
6 in the exercise of his or her discretion that such a release will not
7 reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required or that
8 such a release could jeopardize the safety and maintenance of evidence or
9 the safety of victims, witnesses, or other persons in the community.
10 (2)(a) This subsection applies to any bailable defendant who is
11 charged with one or more of the following offenses, except when the
12 victim is an intimate partner as defined in section 28-323:
13 (i) A class IIIA, IV, or V misdemeanor; or
14 (ii) A violation of a city or county ordinance.
15 (b) Any bailable defendant described in this subsection shall be
16 ordered released from custody pending judgment on his or her personal
17 recognizance unless:
18 (i) The defendant has previously failed to appear in the instant
19 case; and
20 (ii) The judge determines in the exercise of his or her discretion
21 that such a release will not reasonably assure the appearance of the
22 defendant as required or that such a release could jeopardize the safety
23 and maintenance of evidence or the safety of victims, witnesses, or other
24 persons in the community.
25 (3) The court shall consider all methods of bond and conditions of
26 release to avoid pretrial incarceration. If the judge determines that the
27 defendant shall not be released on his or her personal recognizance, the
28 judge shall consider the defendant’s financial ability to pay a bond and
29 shall impose the least onerous of the following conditions that will
30 reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance or that will eliminate or
31 minimize the risk of harm to others or the public at large:
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1 (a) Place the defendant in the custody of a designated person or
2 organization agreeing to supervise the defendant;
3 (b) Place restrictions on the travel, association, or place of abode
4 of the defendant during the period of such release; or
5 (c) Require, at the option of any bailable defendant, either of the
6 following:
7 (i) The execution of an appearance bond in a specified amount and
8 the deposit with the clerk of the court in cash of a sum not to exceed
9 ten percent of the amount of the bond, ninety percent of such deposit to
10 be returned to the defendant upon the performance of the appearance or
11 appearances and ten percent to be retained by the clerk as appearance
12 bond costs, except that when no charge is subsequently filed against the
13 defendant or if the charge or charges which are filed are dropped before
14 the appearance of the defendant which the bond was to assure, the entire
15 deposit shall be returned to the defendant. If the bond is subsequently
16 reduced by the court after the original bond has been posted, no
17 additional appearance bond costs shall be retained by the clerk. The
18 difference in the appearance bond costs between the original bond and the
19 reduced bond shall be returned to the defendant. In no event shall the
20 deposit be less than twenty-five dollars. Whenever jurisdiction is
21 transferred from a court requiring an appearance bond under this
22 subdivision to another state court, the transferring court shall transfer
23 the ninety percent of the deposit remaining after the appearance bond
24 costs have been retained. No further costs shall be levied or collected
25 by the court acquiring jurisdiction; or
26 (ii) The execution of a bail bond with such surety or sureties as
27 shall seem proper to the judge or, in lieu of such surety or sureties, at
28 the option of such person, a cash deposit of such sum so fixed,
29 conditioned for his or her appearance before the proper court, to answer
30 the offense with which he or she may be charged and to appear at such
31 times thereafter as may be ordered by the proper court. The cash deposit
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1 shall be returned to the defendant upon the performance of all
2 appearances.
3 (4) If the court requires the defendant to execute an appearance or
4 bail bond, the court shall appoint counsel for the defendant if the court
5 finds the defendant to be indigent.
6 (5) (2) If the amount of bail is deemed insufficient by the court
7 before which the offense is pending, the court may order an increase of
8 such bail and the defendant shall provide the additional undertaking,
9 written or cash, to secure his or her release. All recognizances in
10 criminal cases shall be in writing and be continuous from term to term
11 until final judgment of the court in such cases and shall also extend,
12 when the court has suspended execution of sentence for a limited time, as
13 provided in section 29-2202, or, when the court has suspended execution
14 of sentence to enable the defendant to apply for a writ of error to the
15 Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, as provided in section 29-2301, until
16 the period of suspension has expired. When two or more indictments or
17 informations are returned against the same person at the same term of
18 court, the recognizance given may be made to include all offenses charged
19 therein. Each surety on such recognizance shall be required to justify
20 under oath in a sum twice the amount of such recognizance and give the
21 description of real estate owned by him or her of a value above
22 encumbrance equal to the amount of such justification and shall name all
23 other cases pending in which he or she is a surety. No one shall be
24 accepted as surety on recognizance aggregating a sum in excess of his or
25 her equity in the real estate, but such recognizance shall not constitute
26 a lien on the real estate described therein until judgment is entered
27 thereon against such surety.
28 (6) (3) In order to assure compliance with the conditions of release
29 referred to in subsection (3) (1) of this section, the court may order a
30 defendant to be supervised by a person, an organization, or a pretrial
31 services program approved by the county board. A court shall waive any
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1 fees or costs associated with the conditions of release or supervision if
2 the court finds the defendant is unable to pay for such costs.
3 Eligibility for release or supervision by such pretrial release program
4 shall under no circumstances be conditioned upon the defendant’s ability
5 to pay. While under supervision of an approved entity, and in addition to
6 the conditions of release referred to in subsection (3) (1) of this
7 section, the court may impose the following conditions:
8 (a) Periodic telephone contact by the defendant with the
9 organization or pretrial services program;
10 (b) Periodic office visits by the defendant to the organization or
11 pretrial services program;
12 (c) Periodic visits to the defendant’s home by the organization or
13 pretrial services program;
14 (d) Mental health or substance abuse treatment for the defendant,
15 including residential treatment, if the defendant consents or agrees to
16 the treatment;
17 (e) Periodic alcohol or drug testing of the defendant;
18 (f) Domestic violence counseling for the defendant, if the defendant
19 consents or agrees to the counseling;
20 (g) Electronic or global-positioning monitoring of the defendant;
21 and
22 (h) Any other supervision techniques shown by research to increase
23 court appearance and public safety rates for defendants released on bond.
24 (7) (4) The incriminating results of any drug or alcohol test or any
25 information learned by a representative of an organization or program
26 shall not be admissible in any proceeding, except for a proceeding
27 relating to revocation or amendment of conditions of bond release.
28 Sec. 2. Original section 29-901, Revised Statutes Cumulative
29 Supplement, 2018, is repealed.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 29-901