Have you ever had a warrant out on you?

[Lisa0825]

I have always been a pretty good girl... did some partying, but never hurt anyone, and the only mildly illegal things I have done have basically been neglecting my car registration and inspection, and moderate speeding.

Well, I got a ticket for my registration and inspection, and when it was due, I had some financial troubles, and then sorta one thing after another... I fully intended to take care of it, but it has been a difficult few months. Anyway, I got home from work yesterday to find the business card of a police "warrant officer" stuck in the front door of my house, with a note for me to call him.

Am I in major trouble? Or is this something relatively easy to take care of? I was hoping to put it off until my tax return comes in, but I guess I'm in a corner now.

I am leaving for Iowa tomorrow after work, and I am afraid to call about it before I leave, in case they say I have to take care of it immediately.

HELP! Should I call tomorrow, or wait until I am out of state, or when I get back? Am I in deep doo doo, or am I being too worried????

:scared: :shrug: :scared: :shrug: :scared:

[Alenne]

1. Call from Iowa

and tell them you are out of town.

[Lisa0825]

2. Thanks, Alenne.

That was my first thought, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for the input:-)

[Alenne]

3. if a cop runs your tags

on your way to or from work I think they might impound your car.

[Lisa0825]

6. Yeah, I have been really paranoid...

But I actually am a VERY good driver.. don't speed much, use my turn signals, never had an accident, etc..... and I have gotten really good at spotting cops from a distance so I can turn into a parking lot!!! (I have been worrying about this since the ticket was due, not just since I got the card on my door)

Thanks:-)

[WealthAndDemocracy]

4. I did that about 25 years ago

Most expensive ticket of my life.

I got a speeding ticket and I couldn't afford it at the time. By the time it caught up to me it cost triple what it would have if I'd taken care of it to begin with and I had to appear in traffic court.

I didn't get a note to call though. If you just got a citation for registration and inspection you might be able to work it out with a phone call. Just call and I'm sure they will be reasonable. I would call right away though. I don't think it would interfere with your trip to Iowa.

Good Luck

[Lisa0825]

5. welll.... I am leaving tomorrow.....

so maybe I will at least wait until I am actually on the bus, so I can honestly say I am ON a trip.

I know I screwed up, and it will cost more.... but at the time, the choice was between patying mortgage and electric or the ticket, and I had no one who could loan that much to me ($300).

Thanks for the response!

[WealthAndDemocracy]

8. I understand

That's what my choice was at the time. Groceries or speeding ticket.

But I was too proud to ask my dad to borrow the money for the ticket. It was a bad time to ask.

I can't even remember if I ever told him I had to go to court to bail my ass out. I don't think I did.

[WealthAndDemocracy]

22. I'm having second thoughts

I don't think I ever got a "warrant", I think I just got something in the mail or some kind of notice. I was never in danger of being arrested or having to post bail.

If you have the opportunity to call I would do it as soon as possible. There's not much they can do if you are on a bus. But I would take care of this ASAP and not risk getting picked up or have them knocking on your door

[Kenneth ken]

7. choices

1. ignore it. If you get stopped for something, you can expect to be arrested and put in jail until you post bail. Then you will of course have to go to court or forfeit the bail. Plus you would get re-arrested for failure to appear the next time you got stopped if you ignore that court date (and porbalby not be allowed to post bail the second time.)

2. Since you get a chance to call; call. All they really want is to have you post bond and set a court date to resolve the outstanding ticket. You will need to find money to post bond with. I'd guess $100.

In my case. first time. I was about 18. Cop came to my work and we arranged for me to go to the county court house and post bond. I had to subsequently go to court for the original ticket.

Second time. I got arrested, spent the night in jail, had to call someone to come post bail for me, and then subsequently go to court for the original matter. Plus pay back the person who posted my bail of course.

Your choice. But they are trying to make it as easy and painless as possible for you at the present time.

[Lisa0825]

12. Thanks, Kennethken

Do you know if a warrant definitely means court, or will they still just let me pay it out for something so minor?

I am DEFINITELY going to call.. it was more a matter of when, and needing a bit of moral support! :-)

Thanks for the info!

[Kenneth ken]

15. dunno

My best guess would be, yes, you will need to make a court appearance. Since the problem is/was registration, the steps would be a) set the court date, b) get the registration problem resolved so when you go to court you can provide proof that the problem no longer exists.

[mindless]

9. Kinda funny, I was in NJ but moving the next day

to NY. I had a warrent out for 7 years i think. I was trying to stop at a red light and I hydroplaned. So I went on through and got a ticket for reckless driving. I was moving to NY the next morning and I still had a valid license there. I got mail like 3 years later from NJ saying I still owed for a ticket...LOLOLOL. That is my only moving violation besides DUI in Florida..hee hee.

[Lisa0825]

13. LOL! So, did you ever take care of it, or are you still on the lamb?

I'm not sure if that is bad timing or GOOD timing?LOL

[mindless]

19. Still on the Lamb.

I think the years have released me. But I now live in KS so I am not worried....lol It was great timing for me, not so good for NJ.

[Lostmessage]

10. Turn yourself in

But do it during the week early in the morning so that you won't have to sit in jail all weekend long. I had a warrant out for parking tickets one time and I got pulled over and my car was screwed up because it was left on the side of the road when they busted me.
Do you know how embarrassing it is when they cuff you in front of traffic or even worse in front of your neighbors?
Turn yourself in they will give you an I Bond and you won't have to pay out of pocket for your bond fee. If they bust you the other way you will have to come up with cash.

[Lisa0825]

14. So, if I turn myself in during the week, can I mostl likely

take care of it the same day? If I have to spend any time in jail, I'd rather do it over th eweekend so I don't miss work.

In my neighborhood, I have seen two neighbors cuffed and taken away this year!LOL! But yeah, i would be MORTIFIED!!!!

[Lostmessage]

18. It's not funny when you are the one cuffed

Believe me it's embarrassing and one time was enough for me.

[Lisa0825]

21. Yeah, I didn't mean to make light of it....

call it nervous laughter.... I was just trying to cheer myself up with the thought that it's not uncommon in my neighborhood, apparently. Hopefully i will be able to avoid it myself. Thanks.

[necso]

11. Not a big deal.

They may have in mind to haul you before the judge, or stick you in jail until one is available. They may also just be giving you a warning, a chance to bond, etc --- in my experience they send you a letter for this though, but it is possible.

In CA you can actually go online (in some counties anyway) to the courts and figure out what the deal is.... very helpful.

My buddy spends half his time (it seems) on some kind of violation. I drive him to the court because we never know where he is going to spend the night.

It is far better to take care of these things before getting grabbed. The very worst is to get nabbed on the street in the vehicle in question. So try to get a ride to court and get it taken care of. First and foremost, I would try to figure out what my status was. You should be able to call the court and find out (would be my first call). It's also best to leave the vehicle at home until you have cleaned the mess up.

You may have compounded the original offense with missing a court date or two. Still no big deal. If money is tight sometimes you can trade time for money.

[Lisa0825]

16. I haven't gotten anything by mail, and that is actually what I expected...

The card did have the police website on it! Good idea! Maybe I can find some info there. I definitely plan to take care of it. I'll call tomorrow. I can't leave the vehicle home though.... it's 50 miles to my office, and the only car I have. However, the police station/court annex is only a mile away, so I can walk there when the time comes.

I know I missed one court date, and I arranged for payments, but that's when I had major unexpected expenses, and didn't pay up....but I never got a notice about another date.

Thanks for the tips!

[necso]

23. Careful

Impound isn't out of the question. In CA, a second registration offense can be impound. If there is a warrant and they run your plates -------- OUCH! Gets real expensive.

If it was me I would call into work dead, go into court first thing.

But get some info first. If the police website is no good, go to the county and look for courts.

The cop showing up may mean your status has changed --- which means it is past time to just ignore things.

[Lostmessage]

24. You can have a bench warrant out

If you miss court they put a bench warrant out for you. I was a horrible kid and I know these things. I racked up $2,000.00 dollars in parking tickets while I was in High School.

[Crunchy Frog]

17. I've had the same sort of thing

happen to me. I kind of flaked into it due to clinical depression that often keeps me from taking care of routine tasks. I don't know how it works in your state. With me, I got stopped for having expired tags, they ran my licence, discovered the warrant, and arrested me. I had to spend several hours in a sort of waiting room while I tried to get hold of my sister and mother. My sister finally came and bailed me out.

If you contact them, you should make sure you have someone lined up to take care of bail. Once that's taken care of, they will just set up a new court date, and if you have everything in order by then, they will probably drop the charges. That was my experience anyway, hopefully it will be similar in your state.

Good luck:hug:

[Lisa0825]

20. Thanks, crunchyfrog

Ya know... I was on anti-depressants a couple years ago, and have been deliberating whether or not I needed them again... I didn't realize the "taking care of routine tasks" think may be a signal.... hmmm...

I'll be calling the officer tomorrow to find out exactly what I have in store. I am still hoping I can just pay up!!!! wish me luck!

[Crunchy Frog]

29. Best of luck

and please let us know how things turn out, and that you're OK.

[Pithlet]

25. I hope everything works out

I would consider that card a second chance. I see already that you plan on calling tomorrow, and that's good. I actually had to go to court today to pay a ticket for that same reason. I was on bed rest when my tags expired, and then forgot all about it, and drove the expired tags to go x-mas shopping. Oops.

[NJCher]

26. All they want is the money

These things are municipal rackets, at least here. If you go down there with the dough, they will likely let you pay up, especially if there's a way you could prove you haven't been driving. Got a receipt for a serious repair on your car? That would be good. Car's been in the garage, you'e been taking the bus, right?

I had a friend who overlooked stuff like this and I bailed her out a couple times on the driving. What they really hate is for you to make a payment plan and not make the payment, like you said you did here:

I know I missed one court date, and I arranged for payments, but that's when I had major unexpected expenses, and didn't pay up....but I never got a notice about another date.

What you should have done if you didn't have the money is go down there and say, "I don't have the money. I know I owe it but I don't have it. Can I pay $5 as a good faith payment?" That would have done the trick. It's not showing at all that drives them nutz.



Cher

[Lostmessage]

27. Good Idea about the repair

They just want the money and If she doesn't go down they will keep tacking on fees. Most of the $2,000.00 bucks in parking fines that I owed was from fees from ignoring the problem.

[banana republican]

28. no but I am certifiable....