Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 99 - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (§§ 99-NEW-001 — 99-51-3) › Chapter 5 - BAIL (§§ 99-5-1 — 99-5-39) › Section 99-5-11 - All conservators of the peace may take recognizance or bond; setting bail; waiver of appearance authorized; designation of officer to take bond authorized; certificate of default; alias warrant; when protection order registry must be checked; when bond not required

(1)
All justice court judges and all other conservators of the peace are authorized, whenever a person is brought before them charged with any offense not capital for which bail is allowed by law, to take the recognizance or bond of the person, with sufficient sureties, in such penalty as the justice court judge or conservator of the peace may require, for his appearance before the justice court judge or conservator of the peace for an examination of his case at some future day.
(2)
(a)
Financial conditions of bail shall not be set for the sole purpose of detaining the defendant. When bail is set, it is presumed that the amount of bail is both necessary to reasonably assure the safety of a victim, witness or general public and to guarantee the appearance of a defendant as required by the court. The amount of bail is also presumed to be attainable by the defendant. The presumption that bail is attainable by the defendant may be rebutted by the defendant who may file a motion to reduce or set aside the bail requirement with the court due to lack of financial means, which shall also consider the availability of a third-party support system to obtain the defendant's release. The court shall rule on any such motion within forty-eight (48) hours of the filing.
(b)
In cases in which the defendant or his counsel asserts that the defendant is indigent and cannot afford the amount of bail, the justice court judge or conservator of the peace shall make a determination of whether the defendant can be released on recognizance, based on the standards enumerated in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure and any other factors considered relevant by the municipal judge. No misdemeanor defendant shall be incarcerated solely because the defendant cannot afford to post bail; nor shall a misdemeanor defendant be released solely because the defendant cannot afford bail. It is the duty of the justice court judge or conservator of the peace to ensure that release of the defendant does not jeopardize the community.
(c)
The accused may waive an appearance before the judge and execute an appearance bond in an amount determined by the court from the bond guidelines set out in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure and agree to appear at a specified time and place.
(d)
If the justice court judge or conservator of the peace is unavailable and has not otherwise provided for the setting of bail, it is lawful for any officer or officers designated by order of the justice court judge or conservator of the peace to take bond, cash, property or recognizance, with or without sureties, in the amount of the minimum bail specified in the bond guidelines set out in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, payable to the county and conditioned for the appearance of the person on the return day and time of the writ before the court to which the warrant is returnable, or in cases of arrest without a warrant, on the day and time set by the court or officer for arraignment, and there remain from day to day and term to term until discharged.
(3)
And if the person thus recognized or thus giving bond fails to appear at the appointed time, it shall be the duty of the justice court judge or conservator of the peace to return the recognizance or bond, with his certificate of default, to the court having jurisdiction of the case, and a recovery may be had therein by scire facias, as in other cases of forfeiture. The justice court judge or other conservator of the peace shall also issue an alias warrant for the defaulter.
(4)
In circumstances involving an offense against any of the following:
(a)
a current or former spouse of the accused or child of that person;
(b)
a person living as a spouse or who formerly lived as a spouse with the accused or a child of that person;
(c)
a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to the accused;
(d)
a person who has a current or former dating relationship with the accused; or
(e)
a person with whom the accused has had a biological or legally adopted child, the justice court judge or other conservator of the peace shall check, or cause to be made a check, of the status of the person for whom recognizance or bond is taken before ordering bail in the Mississippi Protection Order Registry authorized under Section
93-21-25
, and the existence of a domestic abuse protection order against the accused shall be considered when determining appropriate bail.
(5)
After the court considers the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, a misdemeanant may be released on his or her own recognizance unless:
(a)
The misdemeanant:
(i)
Is on probation or parole;
(ii)
Has other unresolved charges pending; or
(iii)
Has a history of nonappearance; or
(b)
The court finds that:
(i)
The release of the misdemeanant would constitute a special danger to any other person or to the community; or
(ii)
Release of the misdemeanant on his or her own recognizance is highly unlikely to assure the appearance of the misdemeanant as required.
Codes, 1871, § 2874; 1880, § 3044; 1892, § 1397; 1906, § 1469; Hemingway's 1917, § 1227; 1930, § 1249; 1942, § 2492; Laws, 2012, ch. 514, § 11, eff. 7/1/2012.
Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 376, SB 2298,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by Laws, 2019, ch. 466, HB 1352,§ 37, eff. 7/1/2019.