People v. Accredited Surety Casualty Co.
Annotate this CaseAccredited Surety, through its bail agent, posted bond for the release of defendant in Fresno County Superior Court. Defendant failed to appear for arraignment and the trial court issued a bench warrant for defendant, as well as ordered the bond forfeited. Defendant was later arrested and held in the Sacramento County Jail. Subsequently, the surety appealed an order denying its motion to set aside summary judgment, to discharge forfeiture, and to exonerate the bond. At issue is the "good cause" requirement of Penal Code section 1305.6. The surety contends it should have been given a 20-day extension to file its motion because it satisfied the good faith requirement. The court concluded that the appropriate test for good cause contains an objective component and subjective good faith component. In determining whether a surety acted reasonably and in good faith, courts must consider the totality of the circumstances and evaluate the reasons given by the surety for not filing a motion within the 185-day appearance period. Here, the surety failed to present sufficient evidence to establish that it acted reasonably in waiting until after the expiration of the appearance period to seek exoneration of the bond, and the surety failed to show that an objectively reasonable bail agent would have been mislead about the status of the bond by the copy of a minute order provided by the clerk of the court's office. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the trial court because that court was correct in determining that the surety failed to establish good cause for the 20-day extension under section 1305.6, subdivision (b).
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