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.
Texas Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) FAQ’s
By Megan Breckenridge, Staff WriterSULLO & SULLO, LLP
HOUSTON—A
Commercial Driver’s License, or CDL, is required for the operation of
any type of commercial vehicle that has a gross vehicle weight rating
(GVWR) of more than 26,000 lbs; transports hazardous materials that
require warning placards under Department of Transportation regulations;
or that is designed to carry 16 or more passengers, including the
driver. Some examples of vehicles that require a CDL to operate are tow
trucks, tractor trailers and buses.
