Although my son's charges have nothing to do with drugs and alcohol, the judge entered requirements of several weekly random urinalysis and breathalyzer tests in connection with the $5,000 personal recognizance bond wherein I am listed as co-signer. The court-appointed defense counsel said I would only have to pay $5,000 if my son didn't appear in court as ordered. I don't feel confident about that answer and wonder how I can find out for sure.
You should challenge the UA condition as a violation of the Fourth Amendment. There's no reason for it when the case is non-drug related. If he fails the drug test his bond would be revoked, and he'd be jail, but the bond wouldn't be forfeited.
If he flees and bond is revoked, they can go after you for the $5,000 bond. Bond is to assure that he appears for all court dates and to cover the expenses of chasing him down if he flees and has to be apprehended and brought back into the jurisdiction. With a PR bond, it is highly doubtful that the Court will go after you for the $5,000, because you never posted it. I was a former judge and we did PR bonds all of the time. It is rare to have a co-signor on a PR bond to be honest, because the co-signor does not post anything to secure the person's attendance. Although I at times had co-signors on PR bonds when I was a judge. I brought the issue up to a judge in Colorado Springs on a case as a prosecutor a few years ago and he looked at me like I was from Mars. Even though we were judges together, he seriously stopped the proceedings in the courtroom and said "where are you from and what are you talking about?" In short, co-signors on PR bonds are viewed as somewhat of a joke by many judges.
This doesn't make sense. Ordinarily with a PR bond no cash is required to be deposited with the court. Defendant is released on his/her promise to appear in court. As with a property bond this type of bond is issued by the court.
If you went through a bail bondsman to put up a cash bond and paid 10% premium on $5,000 then failure to appear may result in arrest and forfeiture of the bond amount. Failure to Appear is a separate criminal offense that can result in imprisonment from 6 months to 1 year and the loss of eligibility for probation or suspended sentence. (§ 18-8-212, C.R.S.) The court may issue a warrant for your son's arrest, revoke his bond and/or increase the amount of his bond, so the bail bond may be forfeited and the property or money deposited as collateral for the bail bond may be lost.
If in fact you are the co-signer on a (non-PR) bond, and your son fails to appear, it's in your best interest to immediately contact your criminal defense attorney to assist in making arrangements to have your son appear in court before judgment is entered. If the bail bonding agent has to locate and arrest the defendant, you may be responsible for related fees and expenses. Surrendering the defendant, your son, may keep you from having to pay the full amount of a forfeited bond.
Check your paper work to determine what kind of bond your son has and what the bond conditions are.
Shaun C KaufmanCriminal Defense AttorneyDenver, COCO licensed ·
I have never seen a court go after a co-signer for a PR bond in 17 years of practicing criminal law daily. But they could. Do you want to be the first? Probably not. It is not likely that any court would come after you for your son's violation of the conditions of an appearance bond....but it is pretty likely that they would lock him up again, and/or make those things a condition of his sentencing, if any. It is a lot better for your son to stay clean and sober, get out of jail, get a job and fight his charges. He is more likely to appear that way. In a practical sense, you cannot fight a condition of a PR bond that you are co-signing on, only your son can do that. Not too many defendants want to stay in custody so that they can fight the Fourth Amendment aspects of their bond. (Although these conditions implicate the right to bail and due process under the COLORADO constitution, which is a far better vehicle to fight most things in criminal court under in our state).
