(a) Persons charged with a petty offense in this District for which a fixed-sum payment is
established pursuant to this Rule may elect to post, in person or by mail, collateral in
the amount specified for such offense, and, upon waiver of the right to a hearing on the
charge made, consent to the forfeiture of such collateral in lieu of appearance before
the Magistrate Judge and all further proceedings. Any person so charged who does not
elect this procedure shall be required to appear before the Magistrate Judge as
prescribed by law, and upon conviction, shall be subject to any penalty otherwise
provided.
(b) Nothing contained in this Rule shall be interpreted to prohibit or restrict otherwise
existing authority of any law enforcement officer to place persons under arrest under
proper circumstances. Further, where the law enforcement officer involved considers
the circumstances of the offense to be aggravated, the officer may specify that
appearance before the Magistrate Judge is required, in which case the collateral
forfeiture procedure in this Rule shall not be available.
(c) The schedules of fixed-sum payments that may be deposited as collateral and forfeited
in lieu of appearance shall be those established by General Orders as may be issued
from time to time by this Court. The schedules shall be posted by the Clerk on the
Court’s website. Such General Orders may be issued by the Chief Judge of this Court
on behalf of the Court, pending further General Orders of the full Court.
(d) When a person charged in this District with a petty offense for which a fixed-sum
payment is established pursuant to this Rule fails to post collateral and also fails to
appear before the Magistrate Judge for initial appearance on the date set by the Court,
the Magistrate Judge may, when issuing a warrant for the person’s arrest, increase the
amount of collateral that may be forfeited to an amount not in excess of the maximum
fine that could be imposed upon conviction.
