Asked 4/7/2016 – Houston, TX

My son’s doctor called me at work to tell me my son was at risk of harming himself and needed to get to treatment right away. He is mentally ill (disabled mentally on SSI) and a heroin addict. The doctor said it couldn’t wait so I left work early and got him there. He had court for a misdemeanor the next morning but we were able to get in touch with his court appointed attorney before he left. He told us to have the doctor fax him the admit papers, which he did, and he should be fine. Well, he wasn’t. They forfeited his bond. The bonding company is freaking out and are threatening to sue me. I called the lawyer’s office who explained that he scheduled a hearing for the next day to explain the situation. However, he also said the bonding company may not agree. The court clerk was the rudest woman I’ve ever spoken to. She said he had to have the court’s permission to go to treatment. Really? Isn’t the doctor’s recommendation of him committing suicide enough? His life is more important than missing a misdemeanor appearance but she wasn’t having it. I got home from work too late to call the lawyer but according to the website his bond is forfeited and doubled.

Answer

If your son fails to appear in court as directed, the yes, the Court can forfeit has bond. I assume the bond was forfeited because the forfeiture was issued before proof of your son’s hospital admission was presented to the court. Your son’s attorney is gong to have to do the legwork on this. Make sure he has copies of the doctor’s admission orders and he will have to coordinate everything between the bond company and the court.