Skip to main content
PRINT EDITION

My Cash Is My Bond: Recognizing Rights to Cash Bail Forfeiture Exoneration in Washington

By March 1, 2021July 22nd, 2022No Comments

Abstract: When criminal defendants fail to appear for a court date after they are released on a bail bond or cash bail, Washington courts will likely forfeit their bail. And when the defendant reappears—whether a day, a month, or a year later—that same court might return, or “exonerate,” the bail bond or cash bail.

But Washington does not treat cash bail and bail bonds similarly in the context of forfeiture exoneration. Commercial bail bond agents enjoy robust statutory and judicial avenues for the return of their forfeited bail bonds. A little over one-hundred years ago, the Supreme Court of Washington treated cash bail similarly to bail bonds when deciding whether to exonerate forfeited bail. Lower Washington appellate courts appear to be forgetting that precedent today. As such, cash bail depositors—the accused’s loved ones, community bail funds, or the accused themselves—have increasingly been left to the whims of trial courts while bail bond agents have gained stronger exoneration rights.

Reform to cash bail forfeiture exoneration in Washington is overdue. The well-known socioeconomic and racial inequities of bail leave their mark on failures to appear and, thus, bail forfeiture. Further, cash bail forfeiture exoneration may become more critical as Washington reckons with a “third wave” of bail reform and reformers urge a move away from commercial bail bonds and toward community bail funds.

Washington should exonerate bail bonds and cash bail similarly. This Comment urges the Washington Legislature to enact certain statutory rights to cash bail exoneration. It further encourages Washington courts to realign cash bail forfeiture exoneration practices with precedent and to recognize the right to cash bail forfeiture exoneration whenever defendants reappear within sixty days.

Download the Full Article

Other Articles from WLR Print Edition

March 1, 2025 in PRINT EDITION

What’s Important to Write About? A Century of Washington Law Review Topics

Abstract: This Article examines the topics of all lead articles in Washington Law Review during its past ninety-eight years of publication. The analysis illustrates the changing interests of legal academics,…
Read More
March 1, 2025 in PRINT EDITION

Tenant Rights Deserve Consumer Protections: The Case for Overturning State v. Schwab

Abstract: Tenancy is a precarious housing arrangement—tenants do not own their homes yet depend on housing stability as a foundation for engaging in almost all aspects of life. For more…
Read More
March 1, 2025 in PRINT EDITION

Washington’s Implementation of Legalized Cannabis: A Model for Other States and the Federal Government

Abstract: This Article examines the process and outcomes of cannabis legalization in Washington State, offering insights for other states and potential federal legalization schemes. It begins with an overview of…
Read More