# Michael Jackson back in Vegas, despite being out on bail **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444 "2003-11-21T04:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/1 "2003-11-21T04:03:18Z")
CNN [reports](http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/20/jackson/index.html) that Wacko Jacko is back in Vegas, after posting bail for child molestation charges. I thought it was SOP in all states to order that a defendant not leave the state while out on bail? Is this impression mistaken? And if not, why is he allowed to leave California? ---
**Author:** ![Fyodor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/958977/32.png) [@Fyodor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fyodor)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/2 "2003-11-21T04:26:18Z")
Just a wild guess from a non-American, but Jacko’s got a long food chain, he’s a one-man entertainment mega-corporation and some restrictions would cause undue financial hardships on his business and his staff, put him under house arrest and people are going to lose their jobs. I admit I don’t know what he’s doing in Vegas, maybe something to do with the launch of his new music album? Anyway, his lawyers probably argued at his bail hearing that restricting his movements to inside California would be financially devastating to an on-going enterprise that is good for the economy. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/3 "2003-11-21T04:26:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*CNN [reports](http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/20/jackson/index.html) that Wacko Jacko is back in Vegas, after posting bail for child molestation charges. I thought it was SOP in all states to order that a defendant not leave the state while out on bail? Is this impression mistaken? And if not, why is he allowed to leave California? \*\* Says who? Do you honestly believe all 50 states follow a single SOP with regard to posting bail? Speculating … 1. A California arrest warrant was issued for Jackson. Jackson was in Nevada at the time. The California arrest warrant is not valid in Nevada, but the courts of both states could make it so. If Jackson forced the issue, this action in any succeeding trial would not help him. 2. Jackson voluntarily returns to California and the warrant is executed. 3. Jackson appears, posts bail, surrenders his passport and is allowed to go free. Chances are, as a condition of the bail, he is probably allowed to travel, providing he notifies (and gains permission?) from the court for such travel. 4. Jackson returns to Nevada to complete his work. Now really, with no passport Jackson cannot leave the country. Do you really think Jackson will skip bail by hiding out? Please! Who is going to hide him? With that face, can he hide at all? Jackson may be crazy, bizarre, even mentally ill (whatever!), but he certainly is not stupid (we’ll see!). If he jumps bail, he loses the lot - reputation, his career, money, probably Neverland Ranch, _his kids!!!_. Then again, we may be seeing the self-described King of Pop dethroned in the worst way possible, by his own hand. ---
**Author:** ![MinniePurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/4 "2003-11-21T04:39:04Z")
Well, it’s not as if the LAPD is going to have to spend time looking for him. They’ve got lots of reporters following the freak… er, guy all the time. Unlike a lot of suspects, they’ll know exactly where he is at all times, even if it is in another state. ---
**Author:** ![TBone2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@TBone2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBone2)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/5 "2003-11-21T04:44:59Z")
[hijack]The question that bugs me more than Jackson’s travel is his continued custody of his three adopted (?) kids, as reported this evening on CNN. I can guarantee that in my neck o’ the woods, Children’s Services would have the kids out of any accused child molester’s home faster than you can say, “Wanna piece of candy, little boy?” What’s up with that??? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/6 "2003-11-21T07:41:26Z")
At least two of Jackson’s kids are certainly his biological children. They are his children by his second wife Debbie Rowe. I never heard any statement of where the third child came from. He’s either adopted or Jackson’s biological son by a surrogate mother: [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001391/](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001391/) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/7 "2003-11-21T07:42:28Z")
Oh, click on “biography” in that link. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/8 "2003-11-21T11:34:58Z")
First of all, MJ bailed himself out. He gave the court 3 million dollars that says he will show up in court. If he does not, the court keeps his money and sends out another warrant for his arrest. He can go wherever he wants in the country. It’s on him whether he shows up or not. If he does not show on time, it’s his money… The whole ‘not leaving the state’ thing comes into play when a person is bonded out. The bail bondsmen is now putting his money on the line. If you don’t show up, he has to pay the court that money. A bondsman does not want to have to pay-up. It’s a big pain in the butt for him, even if you did sign your boat over for collateral. A bondsman will not want you to leave the state because it makes you more of a flight risk. So he may or may not impose that restriction on you. But it’s up to him. You sign yourself over to him, and your showing up to court is his responsibilty - not yours. So you have to play by his rules. That being said, even if MJ had bonded out, he is not exactly a flight risk. Is there anywhere in the WORLD he could go without being recognized?? He cannot hide. He is not a flight risk. Also, I have a friend who is out on bond right now. He was arrested, booked, and posted bond in FL. The bondsman knows the guy works in NC, but he trusts that the guy will show up to court. So it’s no problem. The court does not restrict where he goes, the bondsman does. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/9 "2003-11-21T11:38:24Z")
But I’m not implying a court _can’t_ restrict your travel. . . ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/10 "2003-11-22T16:39:58Z")
Actually I don’t think you have to put up the entire bond. In Illinois it is 10% of the bond. I don’t know what percentage it is in California. The whole point of bail is to prevent a person from fleeing. As stated where in the WORLD could MJ go? Much less just in the states. Didn’t Kobe Bryant put up some kind of bond (Maybe not?) and he plays in LA. If you get a ticket in Georgia and put up bond of $100.00 you can still go home to your state. Also aren’t procedings regarding child welfare confidential? So who knows IF they aren’t considering removing MJs kids. Anyway wouldn’t they be apt just to put them with a relative anyway. I know most of the kids I hear of that are taken away are put with their grandparents etc. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/11 "2003-11-22T19:36:44Z")
**Markxxx** , if you bail yourself out you must put up the entire amount. If you bond out (as in getting a bail bondsman to gaurantee your appearance in court) then you only have to pay 10% and you pay it to the bondsman, not the court. The difference is you lose that 10% to the bondsman no matter what. Even when you show up to court, he keeps it. That’s his fee. If you bail yourself out, then you have to put up the entire amount. The advantage is that you get ALL of your money back when you show up to court. So if he used a bondsman, he would have lost $300,000 even if he showed up. Since he bailed himself out, he had to produce $3 million, but he loses none of it. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/12 "2003-11-23T04:50:55Z")
I don’t know about all locales but I know in Illinois I have paid 10% to get someone out of jail. Also Lake County Indiana just had a big flap last summer. Now people can charge the 10% on their credit cards. Bondsman were trying to sue the county to stop it. So in some places you CAN pay 10% and get out. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/13 "2003-11-23T17:30:03Z")
… I stand corrected. That’s just crazy though. So, do you get your 10% back? Or do you lose it as if you paid a bondsman? Man, if I was a bondsman, Id do my best to have the county stop that as well. ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-back-in-vegas-despite-being-out-on-bail/214444/14 "2003-11-23T19:17:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duckster \* > \*\*Then again, we may be seeing the self-described King of Pop dethroned in the worst way possible, by his own hand. \*\* Was that supposed to be funny? 'Cause it was. 😛