Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 893900.pdf

Citation: Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 893900.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
Source verification: official_capture_completeness_unverified
Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/893900.pdf ↗

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from the definition of "surety" at the time the provision in question was adopted,

-7-
 Statev. Barton
 (Peter
   
Richard), 89390-0     

which the State acknowledges. An 1891 edition of Black's Law Dictionary defined

"surety" as "one who at the request of another, and for the purpose of securing to

him a benefit, becomes responsible for the performance by the latter of some act in

favor of a third person, or hypothecates[4l property as security therefor." BLACK's

DICTIONARY OF LAW 1142 (1891); Br. of Resp't at 8. The 1897 edition of the

Bouvier's Law Dictionary defined "surety" as "[a] person who binds himself for the

payment of a sum of money, or for the performance of something else, for another."

2 BOUVIER'S LAW DICTIONARY 1073 (1897); Br. ofResp't at 8.

"The underlying legal theories behind bail bonds and cash bail are
different; in bail bonds the law looks to the surety to guarantee the
defendant's appearance, while in cash bail the law looks to the money already
in the hands of the state to insure defendant's appearance."

In reMarriage ofBralley, 70 Wn. App. 646, 653, 855 P/2d 1174 (1993) (quoting 8

C.J.S. Bail § 88, at 109 (1988)). 5 In other words, a cash deposit renders a surety

unnecessary and vice versa. One cannot stand in for the other.

For this reason, we cannot conclude that a surety arrangement is simply the

putting up of cash or property. It involves a third-party promise to fulfill a financial

burden in the event of nonperformance or to compel that performance. As a matter

of plain language, "bailable by sufficient sureties" means a defendant must have the

option to utilize a surety in making bail. Several other jurisdictions to consider