So I got a ticket in January for expired registration/inspection (which was bullshit on the inspection part b/c I had that done already, but...whatever). Things being busy, I kind of forgot about it. When I remembered "I probably need to pay that shit" today and found it, the court date was supposed to be 2/19. Ah...shit, that's yesterday. So, fellow ticket-receiving citizenry of the garage, I ask:

-Would they actually issue a warrant for failure to appear, for such a small offense?
-I'm assuming my driver's license is revoked for the moment?
-How hard is it to resolve this/will it cost me more money/do I need to retain a lawyer?

Thanks for helping me make sense of a boneheaded move.

2/20/2009 9:37:42 PM

YES they will issue a warrant. fta's are no joke in wake county, they pursue them hard.

the solution to your problem is simple though. just go to the clerk of court's office (1st floor courthouse) and fill out the form submitting a motion for a new court date. being that it's the first time you missed the date and it's so soon afterwards, you'll have no problem getting it rescheduled and no warrant issued.

2/20/2009 9:46:27 PM

^That's not true. I had a speeding ticket due in court during the same week I already had planned to be out of town on business. I went to court and asked what to do. She said don't worry about it, go out of town, and when you get back, come to court and reschedule your court date. They won't issue a warrant for something like that. I didn't go to court the day I was supposed to, I went about a week later, and was able to reschedule with no problem. Just had to have my flight information to prove I was in fact out of town.

[Edited on February 20, 2009 at 9:53 PM. Reason : .]

2/20/2009 9:52:05 PM

Fuck it

This things got me wiggin out

[Edited on February 20, 2009 at 10:06 PM. Reason : .]

2/20/2009 9:55:40 PM

check out this thread son

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=556687

2/20/2009 11:47:48 PM

^^^to put it bluntly, you have no clue what you're talking about. EVERY failure to appear results in an order for a bench warrant to be issued. no matter how minor the charge or reasoning for missing the date. you have a grace period of about two weeks for the paperwork to process, cops gathering your home/work/vehicle info, etc. but if you don't think the police won't be hunting you down like an axe murderer over any stupid charge, you're sadly mistaken. fta's get about the same attention and effort as any other arrest warrant. for traffic infractions, your drivers license is also suspended if you don't make any motion for a new date. then you get to pay ~$100 to get it reinstated after you settle your case. you are however correct in that they're pretty lenient about rescheduling dates and/or withdrawing the warrant unless you make a habit of it.

furthermore, if you do get picked up, recent legislation by our brilliant lawmakers has made it mandatory for magistrates to set a bail amount of at least $500.

[Edited on February 21, 2009 at 12:08 AM. Reason : .]

2/21/2009 12:05:45 AM

first of all, i do know what i'm talking about, because what i typed is exactly what happened to me in august of 2007. and, you said it yourself. you've got "about 2 weeks" before they're hunting you down. this must be why she told me to come to court as soon as i was back. she told me don't wait a month, come in as soon as you're back in town. i asked if i'd have a warrant out for me and she said 'no'.

all i know is, i went to court on monday, 6 days after my original court date, and had no problems rescheduling my court date for the following month. i handed over my flight itinerary and she actually wasn't even going to ask for it, but looked at it when i offered it.

perhaps the lady i talked to at court was completely full of it? who really knows? but she told me not to worry about missing my court date for a speeding ticket, just make sure i came in the following week when i was back in town.

moral of the story: you aren't going to be arrested this weekend if that's what you're worried about. go on monday, tell them you forgot, you'll get another court date for sometime in march.

2/21/2009 11:29:14 AM

They didn't hunt me down... thank goodness. Two tickets close together got confused at Crouch's office, so no one showed up for my court date. Tried calling to make sure everything was ok, but never got a response. So, showed up one day at their office to find out that my license has been revoked for a while due to a FTA. After some ... err, kind words?... everything was reinstated by the following business day. However, I was never notified/aware of anyone actually pursuing the warrant.

2/21/2009 1:57:22 PM

you will get arrested and assraped by a large black inmate named bubba after the dea storms your house

2/21/2009 2:00:19 PM

just hide.

2/22/2009 4:02:17 PM

There needs to be an ***Official: I got an OFA-FTA Thread***

2/22/2009 6:41:13 PM

if you haven't been picked up on an FTA in the last two months, STFU

2/22/2009 8:01:16 PM

Went to the clerk of court office this morning, and the lady told me that I could come back in the afternoon and get it dealt with...they had a line set up for missed/past court dates. Showed the valid registration and inspection to the magistrate, told him that I missed the date because I thought it was this week and apologized...got it dismissed. Other than having to go twice the same day, it was actually pretty simple.

Thanks for the advice.

2/23/2009 4:25:13 PM