Texas - Open Warrant Failure to Appear for DWI

[jturner97601]

I have an outstanding warrant from Denton County, Texas for Failure to Appear on a DWI charge. This warrant is from 2001 and I currently reside in Oregon. A background investigation from a prospective employer triggered a letter from the county to my current address. I contacted the DA and was only told to engage a local attorney. I do not have the funds to do so. Does anyone have any advice about how to take care of this from Oregon? Any chance this will go away given enough time? Thanks for your help!

 

[FlyingRon]

Either you go back and turn yourself in or you get an attorney to do it.
If you are indigent you can get a public defender (but you will have to go turn yourself in first). I suggest obtaining counsel even if you have to borrow the money.

 

[jturner97601]

Can I wait on this?

I'm the single mom of three kids under 5, the youngest is only 8 months. The Sheriff's Department told me that they won't extradite me for a misdemeanor charge or arrest me locally. Does this sound true? Any chance I can wait on this until the kids can do without me for the time it will take to turn myself in (so far the major consequence seems to be the limitation of my job prospects)? And lastly, any idea of what I could expect to pay to an attorney to handle this for me?

I appreciate your help! The breathalizer was .06, so I guess they decided I was visually impaired...

 

[FlyingRon]

If you mean the sheriff from where you have the warrant, that is possibly true. They won't necessarily come get you or send someone after you. However, the outstanding warrant will come to haunt you every time your record is checked (as it has already). Furthermore, the fact that they won't come get you, doesn't mean that if you are pulled over for some other issue and they run your id that they won't arrest you until they determine whether the other jurisdiction wants you or not.