A review of the powers of bail bond agents and bounty hunters: Exploring legalities and illegalities of quasi-criminal justice officials ☆ Shannon M. Baker c ,2 , Michael S. Vaughn b , ⁎, Volkan Topalli a , 1 a Department of Criminal Justice, Partnership for Urban Health Research, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 4018, Atlanta, GA 30302-4018, United States b College of Criminal Justice, Institute for Legal Studies in Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2296, United States c Office of International Services, Vanderbilt University, Student Life Center, 310 25th Avenue South, Suite 103, Nashville TN 37203, United States article info abstract Article history: Received 10 May 2007 Accepted 25 February 2008 Available online 18 March 2008 Bail bond agents and bounty hunters are integral figures within the United States criminal justice system. Their job is to ensure that an individual who has been released from jail on bail returns to court for his or her scheduled court appearance. This article addresses the legal environment surrounding bail bond agents and their subcontracted bounty hunters, as well as the extra-legal violence and constitutional rights violations committed by them. This legal analysis is developed by examining state court decisions dating back to the nineteenth century. Historical and contemporary trends in the law are illustrated throughout the article with respect to bail bond agents and bounty hunters. Using inductive legal research methodology, the cases are divided into two constitutional areas, outlining the types of issues state courts litigate: the legitimacy/legality of arrests and bail bond agents entering third-party residences. The article concludes that although bail agents and bounty hunters have been criticized in the past for exercising their extra-legal authority, state statutes and state court cases have modified the bail bond system, rendering it more amenable to the rule of law. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Law enforcement Legal arrest Legal processes Criminals Defendants Criminal justice Contents 1. Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 1.1. Roles and functions performed by the bail bond system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 1.2. Problems with the bail bond system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 1.3. Court precedents that regulate the actions of bail bond agents and bounty hunters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 2. The legitimacy/legality of arrests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 2.1. Summary of the legitimacy/legality of arrests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 3. Bail bond agents entering third-party residences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 3.1. Cases where entering a third-party residence is not authorized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 3.2. Cases where entering a third-party residence is authorized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 3.3. Summary of bail bond agents entering third-party residences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 4. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Aggression and Violent Behavior 13 (2008) 124–130 ☆ The authors wish to thank the following for their insights, commentary, and support: Sue Carter Collins, Dean A. Dabney, and Richard J. Terrill. Any errors are those of the authors. ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 936 294 1349; fax: +1 936 294 1653. E-mail addresses: shannon.m.baker@vanderbilt.edu (S.M. Baker), mvaughn@shsu.edu (M.S. Vaughn), vtopalli@gsu.edu (V. Topalli). 1 Tel.: +1 404 413 1033; fax: +1 404 413 1030. 2 Tel.: +1 615 343 7467; fax: +1 615 343 7757. 1359-1789/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2008.02.003 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Aggression and Violent Behavior