BOND FORFEITURES

The Bond Forfeiture Unit ensures that criminal defendants appear in court for their hearings. This is achieved through the enforcement of statutes regulating the forfeiture of bail bonds. The County Attorney's Office forfeits all surety, personal recognizance and cash bonds in the County Courts at Law and the District Courts of El Paso and pursues the judgments through collection. The Unit's responsibilities are:

• to promptly file bond forfeiture proceedings on all defendants who fail to appear, as requested by the courts;
• to obtain final judgments of forfeiture on all forfeited bonds; and
• to enforce judgments by collection efforts including execution and foreclosure.

All collected funds are deposited in the County's general fund to defray the operating costs of County government. Forfeiture of appearance bonds results in the simultaneous issuance of warrant for the arrest for the criminal defendant and the initiation of a civil lawsuit aimed at collecting the forfeited bond. Criminal defendants and their sureties are served with a Judgment Nisi, which is a petition to forfeit the bond. Final judgments are entered in the amount of the bail bond plus costs of court unless the defendant or his surety is able to show good cause for the defendant's failure to appear in Court. Judgments for less than the full amount of the bond may result from the return of the defendant to court prior to the entry of final judgment.

The criminal defendant's arrest may be avoided by his/her voluntary reappearance to the County Attorney’s Office for resolution of the outstanding bond forfeiture proceeding.

To view our Settlement Policy for bond forfeiture cases, click here. For more information call the Bond Forfeiture Unit at (915) 273-3249.

To find out about outstanding criminal warrants with the El Paso Sheriff’s Office, please call (915) 546-2214.