out of state arrest in Alabama

[donqprr07]

What is the name of your state? PA

I was recently arrested for public intoxication in Tuscaloosa Alabama and have been scheduled a court date for Dec. 5th. I go to school in NY and my home is in PA. What would be the consequences of not showing up to court if i dont plan on ever going back to Alabama? Will the warrant for my arrest show up if i get pulled over in PA or NY or say... Florida?

[Ranger56]

A warrant will be issued for your arrest.


Yes, It's called the NCIC system. Whether they take you to jail for it is another question. Maybe one of the attorneys can speak to that. But, your name will come up if a police officer pulls you over.

[racer72]

One day in the future, it could be one year from now, 5 years, 10 years. You will commit a minor traffic violation and be pulled over. The officer will call in a license check and a warrant from Alabama will show up. The officer will arrest you, have your car impounded and you will be taken to jail. Alabama will have 30 day to decide whether to extradite you. It could take the whole 30 days for a decision to be made. Besides the embarrassment of sitting in jail for up to a month, you will also have towing and impound fees from your vehicle and the real possiblity of losing your job. Even if you are not extradited, the warrant will not go away and you could look forward to the same thing again. Clint Eastwood asked the question you need to ask yourself, "Do you feel lucky?".

[Two Bit]

This could depend. For something this minor, the only consequence may be bond forfieture.

We use disorderly conduct ordinance to lock people up who are causing a problem. They post a bond and are given a court date, but hardly anyone shows up. They fail to appear, and the court just does a bond forfieture and the whole things is over.

I'd call the court and ask if you can just forfiet your bond.