Legally, the state has little to no right to tell you that you can’t travel in or out of the state. However, when you’re out on bail and wish to travel, state rules apply!
In most cases, the two parties that have the authority to decide if the defendant can travel out of the state or not are the court and your bail bond agent.
Read on to learn more about the matter:
How to acquire permission to travel?
In order to acquire permission from the court, you’ll have to put in a request for written consent. If permitted, the court will state terms and conditions that you’ll have to abide by when you’re traveling.
The state may also put restrictions on the number of days you can travel and how far you can travel. In some cases, you may only be allowed to travel to another city within the state.
Even if the state grants you permission and the bail bond agent doesn’t, it’s not advisable to travel out of state. If you continue doing so, the act will be considered a clear violation of bond terms.
In this case, the agent may also send bounty hunters after you. And bounty hunters are particularly nasty and tough to deal with.
What are the restrictions?
Whether or not you can travel depends on a number of factors. This includes the nature of the offense that you’re convicted for and the type of bail bond you’ve signed.
If you’ve been detained on account of serious charges like sexual assault or murder, you may not be allowed to travel at all. On the other hand, most defendants accused of minor charges like traffic violations can travel in most cases.
However, you’ll almost never be allowed to travel out of the country if you’re under a bond contract. International travel is impermissible in most cases because there is a chance that the defendant will miss the court date. There is also a chance that they’ll skip the bail altogether.
If you’re traveling and fail to report back for court hearings, there may be dire consequences. This is because bail bonds are legal contracts that are binding for the indemnitor. The violation of any clause will lead to legal repercussions.
Not traveling back to attend hearings may result in fines, payment of the full bond amount, cancellation of bail, or even bounty hunters being sent after you.
If you’re under the conditions of bail and wish to travel out of Indiana, we recommend speaking to your bail bond agent about it. At DeLaughter Bail Bonds, we cater to all of your bail bond-related needs. Get in touch now.
