Executive Order 1817

Relating to Bail Bonds and Money Deposits in Lieu Thereof, and to Amend Section 310 of Criminal Procedure of the Canal Zone.

By virtue of the authority vested in me, I hereby establish the following Executive Order for the Canal Zone:

Section 1. The defendant in a criminal proceeding before a District Court of the Canal Zone may make a cash deposit in lieu of a bail bond in form and manner as provided for in sections 305, 306, and 307 of the Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of the Canal Zone, and a certificate of deposit shall be issued to the defendant by the judge in each case.

Section 2. Whenever a warrant is issued by any court or judge of the Canal Zone in a case in which bail may be admitted, the court or judge issuing such warrant shall endorse thereon the amount of bail to be required of the defendant to secure his appearance in the case, and the officer executing the warrant may accept a bail bond or money deposit in lieu thereof in the sum specified in the warrant, and in the form prescribed by law, and the bail bond or money deposit in lieu thereof shall be forthwith delivered to the court having jurisdiction of the case, and a receipt for such bond or deposit shall be given to such officer by the clerk of the court, or the judge thereof if the case is pending in a district court.

When an arrest is made without a warrant in conformity with law in a misdemeanor case, and for any reason the officer making the arrest is unable to take the offender forthwith before a magistrate, he may accept bond or a cash deposit in lieu thereof from the offender in a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars to secure his appearance before the court having jurisdiction of the case, and the offender shall then be released from custody and the bond or cash deposit in lieu thereof shall be delivered to the proper officer or court as hereinbefore provided for in this section.

When a money deposit is made in lieu of bail bond, the deposit shall be held and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of sections 305, 306, 307, and 311 of the Criminal Procedure of the Canal Zone, and section 310 thereof, as hereinafter amended.

Section 3. That section 310 of the Criminal Procedure of the Canal Zone is amended to read as follows:

Section 310. If money has been deposited instead of bail, and the defendant, at any time before the forfeiture thereof, surrenders himself to the officer to whom the commitment was directed, in the manner provided in the two preceding sections, the court must order a return of the deposit to the defendant, upon producing the certificate of the officers showing the surrender, and upon a notice of five days to the Prosecuting Attorney, with a copy of the certificate.

Section 4. This Order shall take effect from and after its publication in the Canal Record.

Woodrow Wilson.

The White House

29 Aug., 1913.