'$nail Bail' is the name of this article posted in the NY Daily News on Jan. 22, 2018 (p. 17). The article says that the woman in the picture paid $406.02 in cash to post bail for a friend, about 4 yrs ago, who had been arrested. In criminal cases & some traffic cases, the purpose of bail is to ensure that the defendant will appear for each court date in the future until the case is over OR the Judge orders that the bail is 'exonerated.' In 2017, in New York City 252 separate bail deposits totaling $239,228 had been deemed abandoned i& were sent to the NYC Controller's Office. In 2016, 219 deposits had been deemed abandoned in NYC, totaling $193,033. But not 1 of these bail deposits was ever deemed INCAPABLE of being retrieved by the original payor (called the 'surety').
Many persons who post bail, not knowing any better, believe that they are not entitled to get their money back. The article notes that 'like [the woman in the picture], many just accept the loss or forget that they had money coming back to them. Others choose not to inquire because they want to keep away from criminal courts.' As a lawyer who has handled criminal & traffic ticket cases since 2001, this is a reminder for me that a large % of the general public has such a deep dislike for anything having to do with criminal cases that many people even forego seeking the return of money that they paid for bail.
Keep in mind that the return of proceeds paid for bail to the surety should be automatic, once the criminal case is over OR the Judge 'exonerates' the bail that the surety had already posted. It's a big waste of time for a person, having paid bail, to then go searching for the return of their own money months, sometimes years, after they paid it into the crim. system for someone else's benefit.
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