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Should I pay fine?

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flemy

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I received a citation from an officer in September for urinating in public when drunk.

On my citation my name was spelled wrong and the section for my drivers license # was left blank, it was not filled in.

In the weeks after I contacted the court about these issues on the citation and I was told twice that no citation had been turned in. I gave the court my name, my name as it was spelled on the citation, my drivers license number and personal details needed to search for me, including the ticket number.

Today I received a letter advising me I should have been in court on 11/16. The letter has my name spelled incorrectly, just like the citation.

My question is, if the original ticket has my name incorrect on it and no drivers license #, should I pay the ticket and can it be tracked back to me?

Thank you for advising.
 


flemy

Junior Member
Yeah, the letter got to me. I'm moving house in the new year. Without my drivers license number on the ticket all they have is my address, no?

And with my name spelled wrong on the citation and letter received would there be a way out of the ticket?
 

CavemanLawyer

Senior Member
The officer would have had to confirm your identity at the time of the incident. It may not reflect it on the copy of the citation you received but it is very risky to bet on it not being reflected on any of the other paperwork turned into the court. If you don't show then a warrant will issue, probably under that incorrect name. But it is entirely possible that it will come back to you one day directly or indirectly. I don't think it is worth it to avoid it personally.

As for defects in the citation being a defense to prosecution, legally they are not. I suppose if you had a green prosecutor handling your case they might mistakenly think it creates a problem but the citation is only the original charging instrument to bring you to court. If you accept any plea then you waive any defects in the citation. If you intend on going to trial then the court will need to draft a formal complaint that meets certain legal requirements. If there are errors on it then you can file a motion to quash it pretrial, and if you win they just have to correct it. If you don't raise the defects pretrial then you waive them. A misspelled name even on a formal complaint doesn't matter as long as you are properly identified as the defendant in the case and the evidence sufficiently links the crime to you.
 

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