TRUMBULL COUNTY Man complains Girard court took his 3rd-party bail money

Courts have different attitudes toward third-party bonds.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- William DeCato was just trying to help a friend.
DeCato decided to come up with the bond money at Girard Municipal Court after his friend, Edward A. Morrison III of Liberty, got into a May 27 jam with Liberty police.
Now DeCato, of Youngstown, says he has become a victim of the court because it kept a part of his bond money to pay Morrison's debt to the court.
Morrison was charged May 4 with one count each of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer. He needed $750 for bail, and since Morrison didn't have the money, DeCato posted $750 cash with the court as a third party.
Morrison appeared Aug. 4 before Judge Michael A. Bernard. The charges of disorderly conduct and assault were dismissed, and he was placed on probation and ordered to pay $429 in fines and court costs.
Used bond money
DeCato's money for his friend's bond was used by the court for Morrison's debt to the court. The court returned $321 to DeCato.
"It's totally illegal. The court is stealing my money," DeCato asserted, noting he has taken his concern to the Trumbull County Board Association and FBI.
DeCato said Morrison wanted to pay him back the $429, but DeCato refused to take it, opting instead to get his money back from the court somehow. That hasn't happened.
Karen Constantino, Girard's clerk of courts, said the practice is standard when third-party bonds are posted.
Constantino said those who want to post a bond are told that the money may be used to pay the defendant's fines and costs. DeCato said he was never told of such a rule.
To avoid other misunderstandings, Judge Bernard said, he will look at developing a form that third parties sign to assure they are aware they may lose their money to a friend or relative.
DeCato said bond is supposed to be used to guarantee a defendant's appearance. Any fines or costs "are not my problem."
Judge's assertion
Judge Bernard said that in such cases he believes the person who posts the bond is "an agent" of the defendant, noting the eventual use of the bond is a matter between the person who posts it and the defendant.
The judge said it has been his experience that defendants always say they don't have the money to pay. "They walk out of the court, get into their Mercedes and drive away," Judge Bernard said.
The bond money should be available to pay fines and costs, the judge asserted, because he can't always verify that the bond posted is really not the defendant's money.
"They [defendants] always say it's not their money, but it probably is," Judge Bernard asserted.
Consent forms Judge Bernard may consider having third parties sign are used at Youngstown Municipal Court, says clerk of courts Sarah Brown-Clark.
Youngstown municipal Judge Robert Milich said state law gives the court broad authority to use the bonds as payments of fines and costs.
Judge Milich explained that the practice of using third-party bonds started in 1997 or 1998 when it was found there was about $900,000 in uncollected fines and costs in the Youngstown court.
"Everyone in the state has that problem" with collections, Judge Milich said.
He said third-party bonds can't be applied to fines and costs except for those who give consent.
"There has to be consent before it can be applied," the judge asserted.
In Niles
At Niles Municipal Court, there are no third-party bonds.
Paul Lawrence, clerk of the Niles court, said the practice has long been eliminated and all bonds are in the name of the defendant -- regardless of who posts the money with the clerk.
Like in Youngstown and Girard, Lawrence said defendants who are able to bond out of jail are often unable to pay the court what they owe.
Regardless of who posts the bond, Lawrence pointed out, people who come up with the cash are told they may not get the bond returned to them because its in the defendant's name.
"I'm sure there are some that don't listen," Lawrence added.
Judge Bernard said he likes the Niles court's approach of having bonds posted in the name of the defendants.
Different courts read the state law governing bonds in different ways.
Kathi McNabb Welsh, chief deputy clerk of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, said she's comfortable with third-party bonds not being applied to defendants' debts.
Welsh explained that 10 percent of any bond is retained for the state, regardless if the defendant or third party posts it.
That 10 percent goes to the state's general fund and the victim's reparations fund. However, none of the money posted by a third party is used to pay fines and costs in the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Welsh said.
Trumbull County Common Pleas Court also doesn't use third-party bonds to pay fines and costs of defendants. Clerk of Courts Margaret O'Brien and Herbert Laukhart, her chief deputy, said a receipt for a bond is in the name of the person who posts it. When the court case is finalized, the bond is returned to the person who put it up.
If a judge rules that the bond posted by a third party is to be used to pay a defendant's debt, the clerk follows the judge's order.
O'Brien and Laukhart explained that if a case is completed and the person who posted the bond can't be located, the court may rule that the bond be applied to fines and costs or be deposited into the county's general fund. If, however, the person who posted the bond shows up later, he or she will receive the money they put up for the defendant.
yovich@vindy.com