Can a Mississippi sheriff accept an electronic bail bond, or do bail bonds count as 'court documents' that require a paper signature?

Plain-English summary

The Sheriff of DeSoto County asked the AG whether bail bonds count as "court documents" excluded from the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). The practical question: can sheriffs accept bail bonds executed electronically, or do they need to be on paper with traditional signatures?

The AG said bail bonds are court documents and are excluded from UETA. The reasoning:

• UETA generally applies to electronic records and electronic signatures relating to a transaction, under § 75-12-5(a).
• § 75-12-5(b)(4) carves out "court orders or notices, or official court documents (including briefs, pleadings and other writings) required to be executed in connection with court proceedings."
• § 9-1-51(e) defines "Documents, court records, or court-related records" broadly to include all contents in the file or record of any case, court minutes, dockets, ledgers, and "other documents, instruments or papers required by law to be filed with the court."
• Black's Law Dictionary defines a bail bond as a bond given to a court to guarantee a defendant's future appearance.
• § 99-5-17 confirms the court connection by requiring the sheriff who takes a bail bond to return it to the clerk of the circuit court.

Putting it together: a bail bond is a paper required by law to be filed with the court, fits the definition in § 9-1-51(e), and is therefore a "court document" excluded from UETA's electronic-signature provisions.

What this means for you

Sheriffs and jail administrators

The opinion concludes that a bail bond is a "court document" under § 75-12-5(b)(4) and is therefore excluded from UETA, meaning the Act's electronic-record and electronic-signature provisions do not apply to bail bonds. It ties the bond to the court through § 99-5-17, which makes it "the duty of the sheriff taking a bail-bond to return the same to the clerk of the circuit court."

Bail bondsmen and circuit clerks

The opinion's holding is that bail bonds fall outside UETA, so UETA does not make an electronic bail bond the legal equivalent of a traditionally executed one. The opinion does not address what form software or filing systems must take; it resolves only whether UETA applies.

Defendants, families, and defense attorneys

Under the opinion, UETA's electronic-execution framework does not govern Mississippi bail bonds because they are court documents excluded by § 75-12-5(b)(4). The opinion does not prescribe a specific signing procedure beyond placing bail bonds outside UETA.

A note on changing the rule

The opinion reads § 75-12-5(b)(4)'s exclusion for "official court documents (including briefs, pleadings and other writings) required to be executed in connection with court proceedings" to cover bail bonds, based on the § 9-1-51(e) definition of court records. It reflects the law as the AG read it; it does not address whether or how the Legislature might change that.

Common questions

Q: What is UETA?
A: The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Mississippi: §§ 75-12-1 et seq.) makes electronic records and electronic signatures legally equivalent to paper records and handwritten signatures for most transactions. Mississippi adopted it to make electronic transactions consistent with reasonable practices and to align with other states' versions.

Q: What does UETA not apply to?
A: § 75-12-5(b) lists exclusions, including transactions governed by certain other laws (like wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts in subsections (b)(1)–(3)) and "court orders or notices, or official court documents (including briefs, pleadings and other writings) required to be executed in connection with court proceedings" in subsection (b)(4).

Q: How do we know a bail bond is a "court document"?
A: The opinion relies on three sources: § 9-1-51(e)'s broad definition of court records (documents required by law to be filed with the court), § 99-5-17's requirement that the sheriff return a bail bond to the circuit clerk, and Black's Law Dictionary, which defines a bail bond as one "given to a court." On that basis the opinion concludes a bail bond falls within § 9-1-51(e).

Q: What about § 99-5-23, which is more permissive about bail bond format?
A: The opinion cites § 99-5-23 with a "but see" signal. That statute says it is no objection to a bail bond that it is in the form of an acknowledgment before a court or officer, or is without certain signatures or endorsements. The opinion notes it but still concludes bail bonds are court documents excluded from UETA.

Background and statutory framework

UETA's role in Mississippi is to align state law with electronic-transaction practices nationwide. § 75-12-11 articulates the policy: consistency with reasonable practices, expansion of those practices, and uniformity among states adopting it.

§ 75-12-5(a) sets the general rule: UETA applies to electronic records and electronic signatures relating to a transaction. § 75-12-5(b) lists exclusions. Subsection (b)(4) is the court-document exclusion.

The exclusion in § 75-12-5(b)(4) covers "court orders or notices, or official court documents (including briefs, pleadings and other writings) required to be executed in connection with court proceedings." The opinion places bail bonds within this exclusion by way of the § 9-1-51(e) definition of court records.

The AG's textual analysis lined up:

• § 9-1-51(e): broad definition of court records.
• § 99-5-17: bail bonds must be returned to the circuit clerk by the sheriff.
• Black's: bail bond is given to a court.

A bail bond is a court document. Court documents are excluded from UETA. Electronic execution is not authorized under UETA for bail bonds.

The opinion's bottom line is that bail bonds are court documents excluded from UETA, so the Act does not authorize their electronic execution.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 9-1-51(e) (definition of "Documents, court records, or court-related records")
• Miss. Code Ann. §§ 75-12-1 et seq. (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 75-12-5(a) (UETA application: electronic records and electronic signatures relating to a transaction)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 75-12-5(b)(4) (exclusion for court orders, notices, and official court documents required to be executed in connection with court proceedings)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 75-12-11 (UETA general purpose: consistency and uniformity)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 99-5-17 (sheriff's duty to return bail bond to clerk of circuit court)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 99-5-23 (technical informalities in bail bond format)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/B.Rasco-October-2-2023-Bail-Bonds-and-the-Uniform-Electronic-Transactions-Act.pdf

Original opinion text

October 2, 2023

The Honorable Bill Rasco
Sheriff, DeSoto County
3091 Industrial Drive West
Hernando, Mississippi 38632

Re: Bail Bonds and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act

Dear Sheriff Rasco:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Question Presented

Are bail bonds considered "court documents" to be excluded from the provisions of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 75-12-5(b)(4)?

Brief Response

Yes, a bail bond is a court document as set forth in Section 75-12-5(b)(4) and thus excluded from the provisions of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

Applicable Law and Discussion

The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act ("UETA"), Sections 75-12-1 et seq., "facilitate[s] electronic transactions consistent with other applicable law" in an effort "[t]o be consistent with reasonable practices concerning electronic transactions and with the continued expansion of those practices; and [t]o effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law [concerning electronic transactions] among states enacting it." Miss. Code Ann. § 75-12-11. Consequently, the UETA generally applies "to electronic records and electronic signatures relating to a transaction." Miss. Code Ann. § 75-12-5(a). However, pursuant to Section 75-12-5(b)(4), "[t]he provisions of [the UETA] shall not apply to court orders or notices, or official court documents (including briefs, pleadings and other writings) required to be executed in connection with court proceedings." (emphasis added).

You ask if bail bonds are considered "court documents" to be excluded from the provisions of the UETA pursuant to Section 75-12-5(b)(4). Section 9-1-51(e) defines "[d]ocuments, court records, or court-related records" as "includ[ing], but not . . . limited to, all contents in the file or record of any case or matter docketed by the court, administrative orders, court minutes, court dockets and ledgers, and other documents, instruments or papers required by law to be filed with the court." (internal quotations omitted). According to Black's Law Dictionary, a bail bond is "[a] bond given to a court by a criminal defendant's surety to guarantee that the defendant will duly appear in court in the future and, if the defendant is jailed, to obtain the defendant's release from confinement." BAIL BOND, BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2019). Thus, bail bonds fall within the statutory definition provided in Section 9-1-51(e). See also Miss. Code Ann. § 99-5-17 ("It is the duty of the sheriff taking a bail-bond to return the same to the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed . . . ."); but see Miss. Code Ann. § 99-5-23 ("It shall not be an objection to any bail-bond or recognizance that it is in the form of an acknowledgment before a court or officer and is without the signature of any person, or is without the indorsement of approval by any officer . . . ."). Because bail bonds fall within the statutory definition of Section 9-1-51(e), it is the opinion of this office that a bail bond is a "court document" as set forth in Section 75-12-5(b)(4) and is thus excluded from the UETA.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General