Suppose you received a traffic ticket some
time back and fully intended to pay it or go to court and plead your
innocence. Then you got busy, time passed, and suddenly you wake up one
morning with a sick feeling as you realize there could be a City of
Houston warrant with your name on it. At this point you may be anxious
and stressed, unable to stop thinking about the Houston police showing
up at your place of work snapping handcuffs on you and leading you out
past your co-workers and even your boss. At a bare minimum, an arrest
warrant in Houston can be a very unpleasant surprise with far-reaching
repercussions. This is one instance where it’s much better to find out
where you stand and deal with it before it becomes a bigger problem.
So—how do you discreetly find out whether there is a City of Houston
warrant for your arrest, then deal with it in the most expeditious
manner possible? Determining Whether a Warrant ExistsYou
can, of course, simply go down to the courthouse, stand in line then
ask straight out if there is a warrant with your name on it. While this
might seem to be the most straightforward way of approaching the issue,
this solution is not recommended. Theoretically, you could be arrested
as you are taking out your checkbook to pay your fines. While not
likely, it is a possibility. You could be allowed to pay your fines,
effectively removing the threat of arrest. Unfortunately, by paying your
fines you will now have a conviction on your driving record which
brings further consequences. You
could ask any police officer to perform a warrant search but you will
be subject to the same potential factors as you are when you go to the
courthouse. You could go online and check one of the several online
public records databases, which is much easier and eliminates the threat
of arrest. Of course you could also choose to simply do nothing and
hope for the best, but this choice leaves you constantly stressed about
the possibility of an arrest. Remember—the police don’t care where they
arrest you or how much embarrassment it causes you. It is much better to
actually know where you stand rather than constantly worrying about it.
Most of us would never imagine the word fugitive
could apply to us simply because we forgot about a traffic ticket.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. A missed court date, even if it is
for a minor traffic infraction, can land you in plenty of trouble.
Should you neglect to appear for your court date, a Houston arrest
warrant will be issued for you, meaning the police have the right to
arrest you at any time or any place. While it’s true that the police
generally don’t have the time or resources to run around a huge city
banging on doors in an attempt to arrest every person who has neglected a
traffic ticket, they do have that option. In
fact, for a failure to appear on a relatively minor matter, the police
may not even bother to go to your home—but don’t breathe a sigh of
relief just yet. Suppose you are driving to work, or taking your child
to school, and a police officer pulls you over because of a cracked
taillight or some other minor infraction. Once he runs your license the
Harris County arrest warrant will become evident and he will likely take
you into custody. If there is no one with you your vehicle may be towed
and impounded, or if you have children with you the situation can get
even uglier. If you are unable to find someone to come and pick up your
children they could possibly be taken by Children’s Protective Services
until the matter is resolved. Facing the Additional ChargesA
Failure to Appear charge is considered a separate criminal offense from
the original traffic offense which required your presence in court. If a
City of Houston arrest warrant was issued for your failure to appear
and you are aware of the warrant, hire an attorney immediately before
you have made further mistakes. The attorney can post a Harris County traffic bond on your behalf, although you can also do this directly or
go through a bail bondsman. If you take care of the warrant immediately,
then you avoid being arrested while you are having dinner with your
family or sitting at your desk at work. Once your Harris County bond has
been posted, a new court date will be set—a court date that you
absolutely must not miss. Some judges will be lenient on a first Failure
to Appear, but they will not look so kindly on you when it happens a
second time.
Although many of us are under the impression
that neglecting to show up for a simple traffic ticket hearing is really
no big deal, should you find yourself being taken into custody under a
City of Houston arrest warrant you may be shocked to realize how serious
it really is. Perhaps you were busy and simply forgot about your court
appearance, or maybe you really thought it was not crucial that you
appear. If you suddenly find yourself being arrested—in a critical
situation with no prior warning—you are likely stunned and scared,
wondering what to do next. Many times these Houston arrest warrants are
carried out at your home or place of work, causing embarrassment and
humiliation. In some cases you may be stopped for something simple like a
broken tail light and find yourself being loaded into a police car once
the officer runs your license and sees the outstanding warrant. However
it occurred, it would be very wise to contact an experienced attorney
who can assist you with your legal crisis. After the ArrestAs
if it weren’t bad enough being arrested, possibly in front of family
members or co-workers, you still have hurdles to get past. You will be
obligated to post a Harris county bond or bail bond in order to ensure
you don’t linger in a jail cell. As soon as the bond is posted it will
be necessary for you to appear in front of a judge and offer a
reasonable explanation as to why you missed your first court date.
Although you have every reason to be upset, it is never wise to put
forth an angry attitude toward the judge, rather you should be
respectful and polite. Don’t forget that it is within the judge’s power
to let you go with a dent in your checkbook and a slap on the wrist or
to send you to jail. Since jail is not where you want to be, it can be
extremely important to speak with a Houston attorney who can explain
your current options to you and help you decide what you need to do.
The United States is truly a nation that loves
to drive, and Houston and the surrounding areas are certainly no
exception. In fact, by most estimations as many as 89 percent of the
adults in America own a car, using it to commute to work, run errands,
go on vacation and taxi their children from place to place.
Unfortunately, with all this driving comes the inevitable traffic
ticket. If you misplace that ticket or simply forget to pay it on time
you could find yourself hit with a Harris County arrest warrant
wondering what on earth to do next. In determining whether you should
post a bond in Houston or not, it is probably wise to consult an
experienced attorney at this point. Traffic Tickets a Billion Dollar IndustryLet’s
face it—anybody with a driver’s license has made the occasional driving
mistake resulting in literally millions of traffic tickets being issued
each year in the United States. Many people commit traffic violations
without even realizing it—unfortunately the law does not accept
ignorance of a traffic law as a valid excuse. Traffic tickets are
intended to be a deterrent to driver mistakes due to the cost-if you’ve
received a traffic ticket lately you were likely stunned by the amount
owed since traffic tickets have evolved into a billion dollar industry. Infractions vs. ViolationsWhether
you inadvertently or willfully committed the traffic violation remember
that traffic tickets are considered criminal cases although there are
varying levels of seriousness. Non-moving violations or moving
violations which are considered non-dangerous fall in the category of
infraction meaning the person committing such a violation cannot be
jailed, receive an unreasonably large fine, have a jury trial or be
entitled to a court-appointed attorney. Speeding tickets can garner a relatively large fine, depending on how many miles per hour beyond the posted speed limit you were driving. In
some cases speeding can be considered a form of reckless driving
meaning it turns into a more serious moving violation. Other serious
moving violations include running a stop light or stop sign which could
potentially result in the injury of another person. Misdemeanor and
felony traffic violations also include DUI, reckless driving, driving
without insurance and failing to stop at an accident scene. If you’ve
been charged with a more serious traffic infraction, you are entitled to
all the normal rights afforded to criminal defendants.
Law enforcement and judicial officials issue
daily warrants all across the nation for those who have failed to appear
as required, and the city of Houston issues these warrants as well. The
vast majority of Houston arrest warrants stem from failure to appear on
a ticket issued for a traffic offense or possibly another minor Class C
misdemeanors as many people believe these types of tickets to be
relatively non-serious, putting them away and forgetting to pay the
fine. Bear in mind that a Failure to Appear criminal charge is not the
same as a Houston arrest warrant. A warrant is a mandate for your
arrest—no matter where the police find you— while receiving a Failure to
Appear adds an additional criminal charge to your problems. A Solution to an Arrest WarrantIf
you have been hit with a Harris County arrest warrant, don’t panic. Our
legal system provides a method of avoiding an arrest without paying the
fines and dealing with the hidden penalties not to mention the
potential embarrassment of being arrested at your home or at work. This
remedy is known as a bond; by posting a Houston traffic bond the warrant
for your arrest is effectively suspended. This allows you to receive a
new court date and the opportunity to fight your old traffic tickets. Consequences of Simply Paying an Outstanding Houston Traffic TicketRemember
that any time you write a check for a ticket you are effectively
pleading guilty to the offense and are then considered convicted.
Posting a bond in Houston allows you time to consult a knowledgeable
attorney to discuss your options as well as the consequences you may
suffer should you simply pay the ticket. By paying your ticket you
become subject to a litany of repercussions including skyrocketing
insurance rates and a strike on your driving record. In other words when
you pay your moving violation ticket you for each moving violation you
pay you will accept two points on your driving record; paying your
accident violation ticket will add three points.
If you believe that failing to appear on a
traffic ticket may be a relatively harmless matter, you could be very
unpleasantly surprised to find yourself under the cloud of a Houston arrest warrant. Of course it is much better for you if you actually know
about the arrest warrant than if you are totally unaware of it.
Although Houston police officers generally have much more serious issues
to contend with than tracking down those who have neglected to pay a
traffic ticket, they do have the option to find you wherever you may be
(home, school, work) and arrest you immediately. Further, during
Houston’s annual warrant roundup the police are actively looking for
those who have neglected to pay their fines or show up in court as
promised. To have police officers come into a person’s place of work and
take them away in handcuffs would be a devastating experience for most
all people. When You’ve Been Charged with Failure to AppearSuppose
you received a ticket for a minor traffic infraction, put it into a
drawer intending to pay the ticket or appear in court and contest it,
then simply forgot about it. In our ever-increasingly busy lives, this
is actually a fairly common scenario. Next thing you know there has been
a Failure to Appear charge levied against you and a City of Houston
arrest warrant issued. Although it is certainly reasonable that you
would panic at this point and send in the money immediately, living in
fear until the check cleared, you should be aware of the consequences of
doing so. Remember that a Failure to Appear charge is a totally
separate and new charge against you in addition to the original traffic
charges. Should you send in
your money for the past due ticket, you must be aware that you have
effectively pled “guilty” to the offense, and now have a conviction on
your record—even though traffic issues seem minor, they are generally
considered criminal cases. That conviction adds points to your driving
record, increases your insurance rates, and can even be responsible for
jeopardizing your current job or preventing you from obtaining a future
job. Should you receive too many points on your driving record you could
even face having your driver’s license suspended—a serious occurrence
for most Americans.
So, you received a traffic ticket, possibly
for exceeding the speed limit or not stopping completely at a stop sign.
It seems a relatively minor issue, so you stick the ticket in a drawer
or your purse intending to take care of it as soon as you get a moment.
Your court date comes and goes, and soon you have entirely forgotten
about the traffic violation. What you are probably unaware of is you
have now committed a separate criminal offense in Texas known as Failure
to Appear which resulted in a warrant for your arrest. Because
the original incident did not seem all that serious, you are shocked
and scared to find yourself being arrested on a Houston arrest warrant.
Most people are unaware that a simple traffic ticket can lead to an
arrest, possibly in front of their family or even worse, at work in
front of their boss and co-workers. The first cost of missing your court
date has just been realized and it is an emotional one. You are likely
embarrassed and humiliated that others saw you arrested, and you are
anxious, not knowing what you must do to get extract yourself from your
present situation in the best manner possible. Posting a Harris County Traffic BondOnce
you have been arrested, you are now liable for the original fines for
your traffic offense as well as the fines for your Failure to Appear
charge which can go as high as $500 plus any associated court costs.
Should you be lucky enough to have escaped arrest at this point but are
aware there is a Harris County arrest warrant out for you, it is
imperative to retain an attorney immediately in order to avoid being
arrested and having further charges levied against you. In either case,
you will be required to post a Houston traffic bond which you can do
yourself, or you could choose to go through a local bonding company or
your attorney. At this point you are probably well aware that the fees
and fines are stacking up at an alarming rate. Once you’ve posted your
City of Houston bond you will be required to go before a judge at which
time a new court date will be set. It would be extremely unwise to miss
this court date as that would add trouble upon trouble.
