I need some legal advice please.

[Dude_CalmDown]

I just got in the mail a “Notice of Warrant for Arrest.” It says:

Please be advised that a warrant for your arrest for contempt of court as a result of an unanswered traffic summons has been issued. It has been forwarded for action to the police department shown above.

To avoid the embarrassment and inconvenience of your pending arrest it is suggested that you report to the police department for the purpose of posting bail. You will then be notified of the date you will be required to appear in court.

So the story is that I got a ticket for speeding about a year and a half ago less than a mile from my house. The cop told me to show up in court early and talk to him and we’ll see what we can work out. Well when I got home I realized that the court date conflicted with a job interview (at the time the first in a loooooong time) so I called the given number to have it rescheduled. When I called there was a little confusion and at first it seemed like they did not have me on file as having gotten a ticket. Then after a little bit of back and forth and me insisting that he did give me a ticket, it seemed like all was straightened out and then we went on to rescheduling my court date. They asked the reason I could not make it and I told them and they told me that when a new court date was set they would notify me by mail. When this happened to my sister it took them over a year to get her a new court date - so I knew it could be a while before this happened. About a year later I got pulled over for speeding again. This time the cop gave me a written warning. He said: “Your record is clear, you weren’t driving aggressively but just watch your speed OK.” My first thought: “My record’s clear? Maybe that guy did let me off the hook!” So the next day I called my township court office and was eventually connected to the area that I needed to reach and asked them when/if I had a pending court date. I told them that I had not heard back and that I was told that my record was clear and I just wanted to confirm this. They told me they do not have any date set for me and that as far as they are concerned there was no ticket (BTW when I called the first time I called the number on the ticket). Fast forward to today and now I realize why they were clear with me and that’s because the ticket was given by a different municipality.

A couple of things:

1. I had no idea that it was a different municipality or I would have called them after my warning. I would have bet my life that it was the one I called. I did a project for the fire department of the municipality it turns out that the ticket was from. The project involved creating maps to each individual street that they covered so I had a pretty good grasp of what they covered and what the other one covered. I’ve lived here most of my life and would never guess that where I was pulled over was anywhere near where the municipality was that actually gave me the ticket.

2. The notice of warrant has the wrong address on it which leads me to believe that my new court date was sent out but never received by me.

3. The cop that told me about my clear record - what would you think?

So what should I do? Should I call them first? The number says Mon – Fri 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM. Is a cop gonna roll up to my house tomorrow (Sunday) and arrest me? Should I show up with bail? Should I show up with bail tonight? Tomorrow? Monday morning? Do I have time to contact a lawyer? Should I contact a lawyer or will they understand with the bad address? Will this go on any permanent record? – People at the company I work for have been terminated for this.

Please tell me some good news because I'm not doing so hot right about now.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. House Traffic Lawyer checking in.

Here's the deal. You have an oustanding arrest warrant.

Yes, you CAN be taken into custody. But it sounds worse than it really is.

No one is going to kick in your door at 4 a.m. tonight like a bounty hunter. All the Court wants is your undivided attention.

First thing Monday, call the Court and ask what their procedure for responding to an arrest warrant. Make sure you ask how much the bail will be. Then go to the Court with money for your bail (cash is good). Don't worry, they won't throw you in jail for showing up.

The Court will take your money and hold it until your hearing. Try to get the conflict straightened out about how you were not issued a ticket and you have the right to see that ticket if it in fact exists. If there is a ticket, please don't argue with the court clerk. Just make sure that you show up at the hearing at the right address on the right date at the right time.

Your bail money will be returned to you after the hearing.

As for the hearing, you have a choice: do-it-yourself (and you talk to the prosecutor about your problem) or get legal counsel (it may be worth the trouble if you have a 4+ point ticket to deal with).

PM me if you have any other questions. I'll try to walk you through the maze of the traffic court.

[Dude_CalmDown]

5. Thanks for the advice.

I am positive now that there is a ticket and won't argue that there isn't one. I have the paper ticket but I mentioned the confusion (and the supposedly clear record) as justification of why I did not pursue it further after I called the (wrong) municipality and was told that everything was hunky dory.

Anyway, it really feels good to get advice from the exact person that I was looking for and I hope that I won't bother you too much in the next few days but I may so please keep a heads up for a PM.

Also, are you sure it's OK to wait until Monday? I don't want John Law showing up at my house tomorrow for this.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Sorry for the delay. Just woke up. Yeah, technically John Law could

get your number today and yeah, you will be taken into custody.

Here's the thing I'm not sure about. I don't think that you can post bail if the court isn't opened. So, I don't know whether the cops will tell you to come back tomorrow, or if you will be held overnight. BUT DON'T PANIC.

I'll ask my friendly neighborhood traffic officer what they do in this situation and will get back to you.

The odds of you getting picked up today are not likely. But it's possible. Why don't you just keep a low profile for the timebeing and take my advice and get busy tomorrow.

[meisje]

2. Most of the time, the police will not come looking for you

A bounty hunter could though! Call a lawyer A.S.A.P!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. You need to contact a lawyer in your state and city.

Laws and ordinances governing these things are different everywhere, and no lawyer could give you competent advice without at least knowing where you are and being familiar with the laws of that jurisdiction. At least where I live, a traffic ticket is only a misdemeanor, so if you don't live in the jurisdiction that issued the ticket they won't come to your house to arrest you -- but if you go there, they can do it, if they see your car, run your plates, and discover the warrant. Call a local lawyer to find out what you should do.

[Sporadicus]

4. This Has Nothing to Do with Your Problem

but I was technically a 'fugitive' in three states for speeding violations: New York, New Jersey & Pennsylvania. I got dire warnings of arrest warrants for a long time, but eventually the 'mail trail' went cold. I was living in a different part of the country, knowing that I wouldn't return for a long time to any of those states.

BTW, this is no longer possible, since the states will contact the DMV of the state that issued your driver's license, which can then be revoked.