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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Women in Business Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend March 17, 2007 Since You Asked: A cancer on criminal justice My son is here watching "Law & Order" and was asking me about how "bail" works and so on and the conversation leaned into bail bondsmen. There do not seem to be bail bondsmen here in Oregon. Why is that? They have them in other states. -- Tiamotzz at mailtribune forum.com (other members wondered, too) We were going to research our answer at nbc.com's "Law & Order" Web site, Tia, but it crashed our KayPro II (check it: 2.5 MHz Zilog Z80 processor, 64K of RAM, dual Tandon SS/DD 51/4 floppy drives using 191K floppies, plus a huge 9" green monochrome screen — cherry!), so we reluctantly forwarded this to our Since You Asked: Special Victims Unit. Oregon made it clear in a 1978 Oregon Supreme Court decision that the services of bail bondsmen and their bounty hunter partners are not welcome here. So you won't be seeing Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman, his sons, or his wife, Beth Smith Chapman, unless they're here to sample our fine selection of merlot. "Oregon basically set up a system where they aren't necessary," Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston said. Advertisement The goal, it seems, was to eliminate the middle man. Bail bondsmen usually charge a fee to put up the cash for the release of a criminal and are stuck with the full bail if the defendant doesn't show up in court. The bondsman then can hunt the person down, typically using bounty hunters, and arrest him or her. In Oregon, a suspected criminal pays 10 percent of his or her total bail directly to the court. This avoids potentially messy situations, such as well-publicized incidents where bail bondsmen break into the wrong house looking for a fugitive, Huddleston said. Oregon joins Kentucky, Illinois and Wisconsin in banning bounty hunters and bail bondsmen. According to a December 2006 story in the Columbia University News Service, Oregon considered reinstating the practice in 1989. The idea was defeated, with an Oregon judge saying, "Bail bondsmen are a cancer on the body of criminal justice." [email protected] . Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary