A defendant has 31 days to pay or post an appeal bond after notice of the amount owed following a plea by mail.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. Not sure
• D. Only if the defendant requests

Answer: (B)

The key idea is understanding the deadline to secure an appeal after being notified of the amount owed. When a defendant pleads by mail, the court issues a notice listing the amount owed. From that notice, there is a fixed 31-day window to either pay the full amount or post an appeal bond. This clock-starts at the moment the notice is received, not from the plea date. The purpose is to move the process along: paying in full resolves the matter, while posting an appeal bond stays enforcement while the appeal proceeds. If neither payment nor bond is arranged within those 31 days, the court can move forward with enforcement or other consequences as allowed by law.