Approved bondsmen will be allowed to continue offering their services in Kanawha County, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey declined to grant a stay to the Kanawha Public Defender's Office while they wait for a judge to rule on the legality of an October order from then-Chief Judge James Stucky to allow bondsmen to work in Kanawha County.
Bailey said the request for a stay did not seem to be an emergency order, since it was filed in December, months after Stucky's order.
"Today I am not going to grant a stay because the position of the petitioner is that there's no harm," Bailey said.
Currently, there are three bail bonds companies allowed to operate in Kanawha County.
Stucky originally approved four bail bonds companies in late December, but one of those bondsmen, Richard Patrick, had his approval to sell bail bonds revoked Tuesday, when his agents started selling bail bonds in Kanawha County. According to the ruling, Patrick had permission to sell, but his agents didn't.
Bailey referenced that recent decision during the hearing, saying that the order was working if someone already had their license revoked for not following the law.
The petition filed by the Public Defender's Office argues that the administrative order allowing bondsmen was never submitted to the Supreme Court, as state Trial Court Rules require.
Bailey called into question whether or not the order had to be sent to the Supreme Court, depending on how the order was classified.
The bail bondsmen who were in attendance were pleased with the result and optimistic that the judge will rule in their favor when it comes to the legality of Stucky's order.
"I think they'll say that the Public Defenders Office has no right to even file this complaint," said Lora Stevens from 1A Bailbonds Inc.
The bondsmen were surprised that the Public Defender's Office was bringing this complaint, because in most counties, the bondsmen work closely with the Public Defender's Office.
"The public defender is usually our friend," said Amy Hass, from Amy Sword Bail Bonds. Hass was the first person to offer a bail bond in Kanawha County in almost 20 years.
Bailey gave the Public Defender's Office 10 days to provide her with evidence that Stucky's order was afoul of Trial Court Rules and what standing the Public Defender's Office has to raise the case on behalf of itself.
Reach Daniel Desrochers at 304-348-4886, dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, or follow @drdesrochers on Twitter.