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.
Suppose you neglected to either mail in the
fine or appear in court after receiving a traffic citation. Soon you’ve
forgotten about the entire thing as your busy life takes over only to
find yourself rudely jolted back to earth when you learn there is a
Houston County arrest warrant issued for you. At this point you can
decide to head down to the Courthouse, hoping you get a kind judge who
will believe your story as to why you missed your court date. If you are
very lucky, the judge will simply re-set your court date. Notice I said
if you are very lucky,
so please do not assume this is the norm. More likely the judge will
require you to post a bond to ensure you show up for your next court
date. A Harris County traffic bond is also applicable if you did not
realize there was an arrest warrant and were actually arrested or if
you knew about the warrant and had either a bail bondsman or your
attorney post a bond on your behalf. When Your Bond is RevokedPosting
a Harris County traffic bond allows you to continue with your normal
life, work and family until it is time for your next court appearance.
The bond is presumed to be incentive for you to remember to show up for
court since you lose your bond money if you don’t appear. Should you
miss that second court date, not only will you likely be in serious
legal trouble, you may also have your Harris County traffic bond
revoked. If you didn’t hire an attorney the first time you missed your
court date, it is absolutely time to do so now. The judge in your case
is not going to take a second skipped court date lightly, and handling
the situation on your own is not advisable.If
you choose not to seek legal help then in addition to bearing the cost
of having your bond revoked, yet another Houston County arrest warrant
will be issued, and this time the police may actively seek you out in
order to execute the warrant. Bear in mind that the police officers who
are sent out to find you and arrest you could care less where that
arrest takes place. You could be arrested while out with your family,
while at work, while taking your children to school or even at a school
function. The officers will arrest you where they can find you
regardless of the embarrassment it may cause you. In the end you could
be facing your original traffic charges, two Failure to Appear charges
and a revoked bond meaning you will be stuck in jail.
Don’t let your busy life get in the way of
taking care of a traffic citation or you could find yourself facing
steep fines, additional charges and could even be arrested if you missed
your original court date. Even if you feel the traffic ticket you
received was not justified, ignoring the problem will not make it go
away. There is a set court date which requires your presence, and
missing that court date is seen as a serious offense by most judges. If
you become aware that you have missed your court date, contacting an
experienced attorney immediately is your best course of action to
prevent further negative consequences. Those consequences could include a
Houston county arrest warrant being issued as well as significantly
increased fines and a blot on your driving record. It is rarely a good
idea to go into court without a criminal attorney by your side once a
warrant has been issued. Although you may get lucky and land in front of
a kind judge who will kindly help you solve your ticket problems, it is
just as likely that you could be told to go home and come back with an
attorney or, in rarer cases, be taken to jail. Seek Legal Advice Before the Situation WorsensIf
you have been charged with failure to appear and a Harris County arrest
warrant issued for you, a Houston attorney may be able to have that
warrant vacated, meaning you will be back to square one. You will be
responsible for appearing in court and paying your original ticket fines
but the good part is you will not be arrested and the warrant will be
dismissed. Resolving the issue is always a better option than being
arrested, possibly at your home or even at work in front of your
co-workers and boss. If the attorney is unable to have your warrant
vacated, then you must post a bond in Houston which is meant to ensure
your appearance at your next court date.
Every year the state of Texas holds a
two-month long great warrant roundup and if you happen to be “asked” to
participate in the roundup it is not nearly as much fun as it might
sound. Those individuals who have neglected to pay a traffic ticket or
other Class C misdemeanor ticket may find themselves actively pursued
under a City of Houston arrest warrant. Just last March Houston began
their annual warrant roundup clearing nearly 30,000 warrants, netting
two and a half million dollars in outstanding fines and making over four
thousand arrests. These roundups are a significant source of revenue
for Texas counties, however if your name is on the warrant list should
you simply pay up? While the threat of being arrested at your home or
place of work is frightening enough to cause you to immediately write
out a check, in many cases it is much more advantageous to consult an
experienced traffic attorney who can offer you some options.
Posting a Bond vs. Paying Your Tickets
If
you know that you have an outstanding Houston arrest warrant you are
probably in a better position than those who are unaware of the fact.
Knowledge of the arrest warrant gives you time to avoid a potentially
embarrassing situation such as being arrested in front of your boss and
co-workers. Before the roundup officially kicks into gear, you have the
option of posting a Harris county traffic bond which can give you some
time to decide how you want to handle the situation. A Sugarland bond or
Jersey Village bond can also be posted should you reside in those
areas. Posting a bond is not difficult and can allow you and your
attorney to decide whether you will ultimately pay your tickets and
suffer the consequences or fight for a better end result such as
deferred adjudication or a mandated defensive driving course. Simply
paying your ticket can result in a variety of repercussions, none of
them particularly good. You will accrue points on your driver’s license,
be subject to higher insurance rates and in some cases your employment
may even be affected.
New Motorcycle Laws Roll Into Texas September 1, 2009
HOUSTON—On June 19, 2009, Governor Rick Perry
signed into law Senate Bill 1967 (SB1967) of the 81st Regular
Legislative Session. This law became effective September 1, 2009, and
includes many motorcycle-related changes that affect all riders.
First,
the bill requires that applicants for an original class M license or
class A, B or C driver license (including commercial driver licenses and
permits) with authorization to operate a motorcycle, provide evidence
of completion of an approved motorcycle operator training course. It
also repeals the helmet exemption sticker program.
Texas Driver Responsibility Program under Fire
HOUSTON—It is common knowledge that
drunken-driving laws in America vary from state-to-state, but in Texas,
they often differ between counties. This “checkerboard” system of
enforcement has recently come under fire, with local judges, lawmakers
and upset residents calling for congruent reform and the elimination of
hefty surcharges often imposed on top of criminal penalties.
Criminal
Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, has taken special
issue with the state’s Driver Responsibility Program (DRP), which
includes a surcharge of $1000 annually for three years for first-time
driving-while-intoxicated (DWI) offenders. Too often, motorists simply
opt not to pay the fines, which Whitmire and law officers said means
more people driving without licenses or insurance.
