Massachusetts General Laws ch. 276 sec. 61 – Bail taken out of court; certificate or recognizance and deposit by surety; presence of persons; monthly statements by person taking bail
Section 61. If bail is taken out of court, the person authorized to admit to bail in criminal cases shall cause a certificate to be signed and sworn to by each surety, which shall contain his name, his residence, including the name of the street and number, if any, of the dwelling house thereon, his occupation and place of business, a statement of the nature, location, purchase price, assessed value and fair market value of his property, and of the encumbrances, if any, thereon, the amount of his indebtedness, the amount and number of other bonds or recognizances on which he is or may be liable and all other matters pertinent to the amount and value of such property, each and all of which statements shall be deemed to be material statements in prosecutions for perjury, and shall return such certificate or certificates and a proper recognizance to the proper court. A surety may, instead of making such certificate, give his personal recognizance as surety and deposit money, bonds or a properly assigned bank book of the kind and in the amount and under the conditions set forth in section fifty-seven for making deposit of like nature. A person authorized to take bail shall take such bail in the presence of the person to be bailed and the surety or sureties, except as otherwise provided in section one hundred and five of chapter one hundred and seventy-five.
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 276 sec. 61
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
On the second Monday of each calendar month, every person taking bail out of court shall transmit to the chief justice of the superior court a written statement, setting forth each separate occasion, as defined in section sixty-one B, on which each bail or surety was accepted as aforesaid during the preceding calendar month, the name and address of each bail or surety, the date of such acceptance, the name of the defendant or defendants, the offense or offenses charged, and the court before which the defendant was required to appear.