(a) (1) A court shall in open court declare forfeited the undertaking of bail or the money or property deposited as bail if, without sufficient excuse, a defendant fails to appear for any of the following: (A) Arraignment. (B) Trial. (C) Judgment. (D) Any other occasion prior to the pronouncement of judgment if the defendantâs presence in court is lawfully required. (E) To surrender himself or herself in execution of the judgment after appeal. (2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), except as provided in subparagraph (B), the court shall not have jurisdiction to declare a forfeiture and the bail shall be released of all obligations under the bond if the case is dismissed or if no complaint is filed within 15 days from the date of arraignment. (B) The courtâs jurisdiction to declare a forfeiture and authority to release bail may be extended for not more than 90 days from the arraignment date originally set by the jailer pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1269b if either of the following occur: (i) The prosecutor requests in writing or in open court that the arraignment be continued to allow the prosecutor time to file the complaint. (ii) The defendant requests the extension in writing or in open court. (b) (1) If the amount of the bond or money or property deposited exceeds four hundred dollars ($400), the clerk of the court shall, within 30 days of the forfeiture, mail notice of the forfeiture to the surety or the depositor of money posted instead of bail. At the same time, the court shall mail a copy of the forfeiture notice to the bail agent whose name appears on the bond. The clerk shall also execute a certificate of mailing of the forfeiture notice and shall place the certificate in the courtâs file. If the notice of forfeiture is required to be mailed pursuant to this section, the 180-day period provided for in this section shall be extended by a period of five days to allow for the mailing. (2) If the surety is an authorized corporate surety, and if the bond plainly displays the mailing address of the corporate surety and the bail agent, then notice of the forfeiture shall be mailed to the surety at that address and to the bail agent, and mailing alone to the surety or the bail agent shall not constitute compliance with this section. (3) The surety or depositor shall be released of all obligations under the bond if any of the following conditions apply: (A) The clerk fails to mail the notice of forfeiture in accordance with this section within 30 days after the entry of the forfeiture. (B) The clerk fails to mail the notice of forfeiture to the surety at the address printed on the bond. (C) The clerk fails to mail a copy of the notice of forfeiture to the bail agent at the address shown on the bond. (c) (1) If the defendant appears either voluntarily or in custody after surrender or arrest in court within 180 days of the date of forfeiture or within 180 days of the date of mailing of the notice if the notice is required under subdivision (b), the court shall, on its own motion at the time the defendant first appears in court on the case in which the forfeiture was entered, direct the order of forfeiture to be vacated and the bond exonerated. If the court fails to so act on its own motion, then the suretyâs or depositorâs obligations under the bond shall be immediately vacated and the bond exonerated. An order vacating the forfeiture and exonerating the bond may be made on terms that are just and do not exceed the terms imposed in similar situations with respect to other forms of pretrial release. (2) If, within the county where the case is located, the defendant is surrendered to custody by the bail or is arrested in the underlying case within the 180-day period, and is subsequently released from custody prior to an appearance in court, the court shall, on its own motion, direct the order of forfeiture to be vacated and the bond exonerated. If the court fails to so act on its own motion, then the suretyâs
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