Article 8. When Open For Business of California Government Code >> Title 8. >> Chapter 8. >> Article 8.

The clerk of the superior court or one or more deputy clerks, the sheriff or one or more deputy sheriffs, or one or more city police officers shall be in attendance at all hours of the day and night, including Sundays and holidays, and may fix and accept bail pursuant to procedures established by the court for the appearance before the court of any defendant charged in the court or whenever a defendant has been arrested and booked within the county for having committed a misdemeanor. The amount of bail shall be pursuant to a schedule of bail in such cases previously fixed and approved by the judges of the court at their annual meeting. If a warrant has been issued for the arrest of the defendant, the bail shall be in the amount fixed in the warrant. The bail shall be cash, negotiable United States Treasury bonds, or a surety bond executed by a certified, admitted surety insurer as provided in the Insurance Code.

If a defendant has been arrested for felony upon a warrant issued by a judge of that court, the clerk may, under like conditions, accept bail in the amount fixed in the warrant.

The authority to accept bail provided for in this article includes authority to approve it, to issue and sign an order for the release of the defendant, and to set a time and place for the appearance of the defendant before the appropriate department or judge of such court and give the defendant notice.

Any commissioner or traffic referee of such court may exercise all of the powers and duties provided for in this article for the clerk relating to bail and the discharge of defendants under bail, and the authority to fix the amount of bail in cases of misdemeanor defined in the Vehicle Code and to endorse it upon the notice for the appearance of the defendant as provided by Section 40511 of the Vehicle Code. Nothing in this article shall be construed to reduce or limit the powers or authority of such commissioners or traffic referees otherwise provided by law.