An odd byway of arrest law which arouses the curiosity of the professional law enforcement officer is the right of a bondsman to arrest a person who has been admittedto bail pending trial. The reason it stirs his interest is plain for in the words of the Supreme Court of the United States:

"No right is held more sacred, or is more carefully guarded by the common law, than theright of every individual to the possession and control of his own person, free from all restraint or interference, unless by clear and unquestioned authority of law."

To find the origin and nature of the bondsman's right to arrest under authority of law, we must go back, as in so many other aspects of arrest law, to the Common Law of England.