Opening Statement of

Chairman Charles T. Canady

Subcommittee on the Constitution

Hearing on H.R. 3168,

"Citizen Protection Act of 1998"

March 12, 1998

Bail bondsmen and bounty hunters serve an important supplemental role in state law enforcement efforts. After an arrest but before trial, most defendants hire bail bondsmen to post a bond with the court in order to secure the defendant's release. The state then in effect gives the bondsman legal custody of the defendant, and provides that the bond will be forfeited if the defendant fails to return to court as required. Bondsmen seeking defendants who either have fled or have missed a court date often employ professional bounty hunters who, acting on behalf of bondsmen, are vested with the bondsmen's powers.

These bounty hunters are generally considered to have the power to search for and arrest a defendant on bond similar to the power of a law enforcement official pursuing an escaped prisoner. Thus, generally bounty hunters need not obtain arrest or search warrants, need not "knock and announce" before searching, and need not seek formal extradition of captured defendants.

The broad powers of bounty hunters to search and arrest a defendant on bond generally arise from common law and case law, and the powers are considered to be derived from the bail bondsman's contract with the defendant. While abuse of these broad powers is by no means the norm, it has unfortunately become all too familiar. In fact, on our second panel today, we will hear from witnesses today who have traveled long distances to tell us their personal accounts of such abuses. The stories they will tell are compelling and cannot be ignored by those of us in Congress who have the power to curb such abuses.

The focus of today's hearing is on H.R. 3168, the "Citizen Protection Act of 1998" sponsored by Representative Asa Hutchinson. H.R. 3168 makes bail bondsmen and bounty hunters subject to the type of criminal and civil liability that state actors, such as police officers, are subjected to when violations of individual constitutional rights occur. For instance, the primary civil rights statute for civil liability, section 1983 of title 42 of the United States Code, provides for civil liability when a "person, under color of state law, subjects a complainant to the deprivation of rights, privileges, or immunities secured to him by the Constitution and laws of the United States."

H.R. 3168, the "Citizen Protection Act of 1998," provides that for purposes of civil and criminal liability, a bail bondsman or a bounty hunter who seeks custody over a defendant released on bond is acting under color of state law. This is in line with a holding of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Judicial Circuit.

Moreover, for purposes of civil or criminal liability, under H.R. 3168, a surety will be held responsible for a bounty hunter as if the bounty hunter was the agent of the surety. This provision is included in recognition of the fact that sureties are in the best position to monitor and control the activities of bounty hunters, and to ensure that bounty hunters do not engage in misconduct.

Finally, a surety or bounty hunter who seeks physical custody over a defendant in a different state from where the defendant is bonded is required to alert local law enforcement, but only to the extent already required under the laws of that state.

It is my hope that the Citizen Protection Act will not only afford

unsuspecting victims of rogue bounty hunters and bail bondsmen a remedy when their civil rights have been infringed, but that the Act will also create an incentive for bondsmen to exercise greater care in the hiring of bounty hunters.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today.

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