Surety Review and 24, 48, 72 Hour Surety Issues

A surety is someone other than the person who was arrested who is making a promised that the person who was arrested will return to court.  If the court authorizes a surety or a surety review, this may indicate a procedure where the district attorney and/or court examines the sources of money being used to pay the bail.  For example, if someone has been arrested for an apartment burglary, the judge or prosecutor may order a review of the source of the money being used for bail to prevent proceeds from the burglary or other crimes from being used for bail. This is done during a surety review in which the source or sources of bail money are investigated, scrutinized, and examined by the district attorney and/or criminal court judge.

A 24 hour, 48 hour, or 72 hour surety simply indicates the amount of time that the court and/or district attorney has to inspect the source of the money offered for use in connection with bail.

So, bail is the general process of providing a financial incentive for the criminal defendant to come back to court and a surety review is the process of making sure the money that is used for bail is clean.

For more on bail in NYC, click here.