Jail, Warrants and Bonding Information

  • Defendants that are arrested for Municipal Court violations are held at the Seward County Jail, 501 N. Washington Ave., Liberal, Kansas.  The phone number for the jail is 620-309-2000.  If you want to assist someone in being released from jail, you may contact the Seward County Jail to determine if the person is being held there and the amount of the bond.
  • Defendants being held for pending cases may post bond in different ways.  The most common are cash bonds, surety bonds or own recognizance bonds.
  • All bonds are posted at the Seward County Jail.
  • Bonds guarantee the appearance of the defendant at all future hearings.  In the event that the defendant fails to appear at future hearings, the bond will be forfeited.  If the defendant does appear at all future hearings, the bond will be forfeited.  If the defendant does appear at all future hearings the bond and surety will be discharged after the case has reached a final disposition.  In original proceedings the case is considered to be finally disposed when one of the following things has occurred.  
  1. The case has been dismissed, either after a trial or by the prosecutor or court prior to trial;
  2. The defendant has been found guilty and sentenced; or
  3. A diversion agreement has been filed with the court.
  • CASH BONDS are posted by either the defendant or someone else on behalf of the defendant.  The person that posts the funds is the surety.  In the event that the bond is forfeited, the money posted will be transferred to the City of Liberal.  In the event that the bond is discharged, a check will be mailed to the surety for the amount of the bond.
  • SURETY BONDS are posted by a bondsman or "surety" pursuant to an agreement with that surety.  Defendants and/or their surety will be required to make a payment as agreed upon with the surety and the surety may have additional requirements for the defendant.
  •  SURETIES must be approved by the municipal court. If posting a bond through a surety, you must use surety one of these bondsmen. Currently, these sureties are approved by the court.  Sureties must comply with the court rules of the Municipal Court.  As of January 1, 2018 all Sureties must comply with Administrative order No. 2017-2, Compensated Surety Policy. All sureties must apply for the bonding authority.  Forms related this are:
  1. Checklist for Surety Application
  2. Application and Affidavit for Bonding Authority
  3. Affidavit of Property Surety

Extensions of time to produce a defendant or pay the forfeiture must be obtained by following the protocol set out in the     Compensated Surety Policy.  A Request of Surety for Extension of Time to Produce Defendant or Pay Forfeiture is here.

  • OWN-RECOGNIZANCE BONDS are posted by a defendant signing as both the defendant and the surety.  The defendant is not required to post cash or use a surety if posting this type of bond.  Own-recognizance bonds may be posted if the defendant has not been seen by a judge within 48/ hours after being arrested initially (not pursuant to a bench warrant) or if the Municipal Court Judge sets or changes the defendant's bond to an own-recognizance bond.  If the defendant fails to appear at all hearings as ordered by the court, the own recognizance bond may be forfeited and the defendant may be required to pay the amount of the bond to the court.
  • If the defendant fails to appear as ordered by the Court, a BENCH WARRANT may be issued for the defendant's arrest.  A $50.00 bench warrant issuance fee will be charged to the defendant when the warrant issued.  In addition, the driver's license of the defendant may be suspended and reinstatement fees may be charged to the defendant.
  • In some cases, when a bench warrant is issued for the defendant's non-appearance on a revocation docket, a defendant may be able to complete the requirements of their diversion or probation and the prosecutor's office will agree to dismiss the motion to revoke.
  • In some cases, a bench warrant may be recalled if the defendant voluntarily appears in court.  If you want to find out whether you have a bench warrant, you may contact the Liberal Police Department Warrant Officers at 620-626-0565.  Spanish speaking persons should call 620-626-0575.