New York Bail Jumping Offense

According to the New York Post article, former New York Giants star Mark Ingram recently pleaded guilty to a federal bail jumping charge in Central Islip, NY. Under New York State law, bail jumping is the Penal Law charge designed to punish those who abscond while free on bail pending criminal charges. There are three degrees of bail jumping. The class of the bail jumping offenses are directly tied to the severity of the underlying charge pursuant to which the defendant was released on bail. The most basic charge, Bail jumping in the third degree, reads as follows:

§ 215.55 Bail jumping in the third degree. A person is guilty of bail jumping in the third degree when by court order he has been released from custody or allowed to remain at liberty, either upon bail or upon his own recognizance, upon condition that he will subsequently appear personally in connection with a criminal action or proceeding, and when he does not appear personally on the required date or voluntarily within thirty days thereafter. Bail jumping in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor

The second and first degree charges are the same as the base offense, with the added provisos that the charges are elevated to felonies of increasing severity where the underlying offense is a felony (2nd-degree bail jumping) or a class A or B felony (first-degree bail jumping). A statute of limitations does apply to bail jumping cases but it is subject to certain tolling provisions in the Criminal Procedure Law. If you have been charged with a New York bail jumping offense or have an old case and are concerned about turning yourself in to the police, you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney before you do so.