A case involving a bounty hunter from Colorado who apprehended a Utah man is now before the Utah Supreme Court.

The court heard oral arguments on the case last week and will decide whether a bail bondsman must be licensed in the state of Utah in order to apprehend a fugitive, among other questions of Utah public policy.

"It's a question of state sovereignty, and that's why I think the Supreme Court decided to hear the case," said Gregory Sanders, attorney for plaintiff Gerald Lee. "Utah has a statue that says it's a crime for a bail bondsman to act in Utah without a license. If they decide in favor of the bail company, it's effectively saying the bail contract trumps Utah law."

Miles Langley, the bail bond recovery agent hired by Ranger Insurance Co. in Colorado, apprehended Lee in Vernal in 1998. According to Lee's court brief, Langley went to Lee's brother's house, where Lee was hiding, and posed as a contractor seeking to hire Lee. Once inside the house, Langley beat up both brothers and hauled Lee back to Colorado in handcuffs.

Langley at one time admitted to not being licensed in Utah, but his testimony wasn't admitted in the district court. Ranger's attorney, Julianne Blanch, said because the facts of the case and previous court decisions have been against the brothers, the Supreme Court shouldn't use this case to set a legal standard.

"I think the facts of the case should weigh in, because if the Supreme Court wants to make a precedent, this wouldn't be the case to do it," Blanch said. "The findings of the jury (in Lee's initial trial) were so overwhelmingly against him."

Sanders disagrees, and said he took this case on a matter of principle because he believes that states have the power to control what happens within their borders, regardless of other states' laws. Gary Walton, a director at Beehive Bail Bonds in Salt Lake City, said he also feels strongly about the case.

"We hate that kind of notoriety," Walton said. "This kind of case is just adverse publicity for our profession. You have to have a license or permission in Utah to do that work. If they had used a lawful method to apprehend him, this case never would have to be in court. It just should never have happened."

If a person is booked into jail and bail is set, the person can contract with a bail bond company. The company acts as a surety and assures the state that it can pay the bail amount. The person is let out of jail, and if he or she shows up for trial, nobody owes the state any money. The bail bond company charges a portion of the bail amount for their service.

If the person doesn't attend his or her court date, however, the bail bond company either has to pay the full bail amount to the state or produce the person who jumped bail. In Utah, Walton said, the company has six months to return the person to the jurisdiction of the courts.

And that's where the bounty hunters come in. Walton said his company has about 12 in Utah that serve the company's 40 bail bond agents in the state. But he said the number of clients they have to apprehend is very small - about 2 percent.

"When I was a young pup in this business, I went out and made my own arrests," Walton said, "but now you have to have a specific license and training to do that."

The Utah Supreme Court's oral arguments can be heard through streaming audio available at www.utcourts.gov/courts/sup.

Copyright Brigham Young University 11 Apr 2006