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Warrant for FTA and FTP, along with $860 of court fines on dropped charges...

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Screwed?

Junior Member
California
So I go to the DMV today to get my permit, stand in line for two hours, only to be told that I owe the county $860 dollars for a Failure to Appear and a Failure to Pay. This is an infraction from a protest when they removed all the ash trays in the plaza and I, trying to be responsible, rolled the cherry of my cigarette into a puddle in the gutter and placed the butt in my pocket. I was immediately swarmed by several cops and given a ticket for throwing a lit substance into the street. I plead not guilty to this charge in November of 2011 and decided to take it to trial. When calling to confirm my trial date, I was informed that there was nothing in the system related to the case, meaning the DA had chosen not to proceed with the charge. Since then, I have called and checked online and no warrant has ever come up, aside from that, nothing was ever sent to my mailing address notifying me of this warrant. I'm wondering how this could've happened and what I can do to fix it. The only issue is I'm homeless and have no income which from what I gathered means I must serve time to satisfy my fines.

I've also been ticketed in AZ since then and had the charges dropped, paper in hand for that one, but my "warrant" didn't come up at that point. I've also crossed the International Border between Mexico and California and had my name ran upon re-entry both times without anything being said. I also have had my name ran by Border Patrol at the border between Arizona and California and nothing came up. I'm so confused as to how this could've happened and I'm just now finding out.

If someone could give me a factual breakdown on best case/worst case scenarios and my possible avenues of action.
 
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Antigone*

Senior Member
California
So I go to the DMV today to get my permit, stand in line for two hours, only to be told that I owe the county $860 dollars for a Failure to Appear and a Failure to Pay. This is an infraction from a protest when they removed all the ash trays in the plaza and I, trying to be responsible, rolled the cherry of my cigarette into a puddle in the gutter and placed the butt in my pocket. I was immediately swarmed by several cops and given a ticket for throwing a lit substance into the street. I plead not guilty to this charge in November of 2011 and decided to take it to trial. When calling to confirm my trial date, I was informed that there was nothing in the system related to the case, meaning the DA had chosen not to proceed with the charge. Since then, I have called and checked online and no warrant has ever come up, aside from that, nothing was ever sent to my mailing address notifying me of this warrant. I'm wondering how this could've happened and what I can do to fix it. The only issue is I'm homeless and have no income which from what I gathered means I must serve time to satisfy my fines.

I've also been ticketed in AZ since then and had the charges dropped, paper in hand for that one, but my "warrant" didn't come up at that point. I've also crossed the International Border between Mexico and California and had my name ran upon re-entry both times without anything being said. I also have had my name ran by Border Patrol at the border between Arizona and California and nothing came up. I'm so confused as to how this could've happened and I'm just now finding out.

If someone could give me a factual breakdown on best case/worst case scenarios and my possible avenues of action.

What do you mean best case / worst case. It look to me like the only case is to pay up.
 

Ladyback1

Senior Member
I've also been ticketed in AZ since then and had the charges dropped, paper in hand for that one, but my "warrant" didn't come up at that point. I've also crossed the International Border between Mexico and California and had my name ran upon re-entry both times without anything being said. I also have had my name ran by Border Patrol at the border between Arizona and California and nothing came up. I'm so confused as to how this could've happened and I'm just now finding out.
Frequently, law enforcement agencies will not enter local warrants into NCIC. And even if they do, they will put on the warrant the limits of extradition--some will say from "will only extradite from X, Y and Z states/counties". It is not worth the money they would spend to bring you back from say Texas for an FTA for a relatively minor charge.

That may be how come it never popped up any other time you have been ran through a national database (NCIC)
 

Screwed?

Junior Member
I have no money.

What do you mean best case / worst case. It look to me like the only case is to pay up.
I have no money and the only database this has come up on is at the DMV, I even had my name ran in LA county in November of last year, which the "warrant" is in SD county and the officer told me, "If you have a warrant in SD, you're headed back in cuffs." So I'm wondering how the DMV knows about a warrant that several police officers searched for and didn't find and doesn't come up online, has never come in the mail, etc. So to me, there's lots of possibilities here.
 

Screwed?

Junior Member
Frequently, law enforcement agencies will not enter local warrants into NCIC. And even if they do, they will put on the warrant the limits of extradition--some will say from "will only extradite from X, Y and Z states/counties". It is not worth the money they would spend to bring you back from say Texas for an FTA for a relatively minor charge.

That may be how come it never popped up any other time you have been ran through a national database (NCIC)

I'm pretty sure the Border Patrol uses a national database and I forgot I also had my name ran in Los Angeles, no warrant came up. The warrant is in San Diego county. I also just applied for and successfully got food stamps in San Diego county which requires passing a warrant check.
 

Screwed?

Junior Member
Uhmmmm

You've been lucky in the past. Your luck has run out.
IDK, the warrant has only registered at the DMV, I just got FOOD STAMPS in the county I supposedly have a warrant in and it didn't come up. I feel like you didn't even read my post all the way through or the other info i've posted.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
IDK, the warrant has only registered at the DMV, I just got FOOD STAMPS in the county I supposedly have a warrant in and it didn't come up. I feel like you didn't even read my post all the way through or the other info i've posted.
I've read every word you've written. You just don't like the answers...
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
The reason that the DMV may have the information that a hold has been placed on your license as a result of the citation.

How do you KNOW that there is actually an arrest warrant out for your arrest? It is uncommon to have an arrest warrant issued for such matters. If you were cited for a muni code, it could be that it is being handled in traffic court as an infraction and that it has gone to collections or resulted in a DMV hold on your license as opposed to any arrest warrant.

What was the code section you were cited for?
 

Screwed?

Junior Member
I've read every word you've written. You just don't like the answers...
And your theory that the DMV is the only agency that would have complete warrant records versus the food stamp office, LA County Sheriffs, US Border Patrol and Phoenix Police Department is based on...
 

Screwed?

Junior Member
The reason that the DMV may have the information that a hold has been placed on your license as a result of the citation.

How do you KNOW that there is actually an arrest warrant out for your arrest? It is uncommon to have an arrest warrant issued for such matters. If you were cited for a muni code, it could be that it is being handled in traffic court as an infraction and that it has gone to collections or resulted in a DMV hold on your license as opposed to any arrest warrant.

What was the code section you were cited for?
Thank you for responding...
VC 23111, if that is the case, what would happen given the fact I'm legally homeless and have no income? I was also told by the lady at the DMV I had a warrant for a FTA and I had to pay the fines to satisfy the warrant.
 

Screwed?

Junior Member
The reason that the DMV may have the information that a hold has been placed on your license as a result of the citation.

How do you KNOW that there is actually an arrest warrant out for your arrest? It is uncommon to have an arrest warrant issued for such matters. If you were cited for a muni code, it could be that it is being handled in traffic court as an infraction and that it has gone to collections or resulted in a DMV hold on your license as opposed to any arrest warrant.

What was the code section you were cited for?
Isn't it also unlikely that I would be given Food Stamp assistence even if all I have is a fine?
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
Infractions are often reported to the DMV. There is no provision under the law that I am aware of to place a hold on public assistance for FTAs or a FTP on an infraction.

And the DMV would not have had word of the warrant. What they would have had would be a record of the HOLD or STOP on your license. That's not a warrant, but the clerk at the DMV may have assumed it was. The clerk at the DMV does not have generally access to the WPS of CLETS/NCIC.

And until you pay it or resolve the citation in some manner through the court, the hold, warrant, or whatever will remain until satisfied and lifted.
 

Screwed?

Junior Member
Infractions are often reported to the DMV. There is no provision under the law that I am aware of to place a hold on public assistance for FTAs or a FTP on an infraction.

And the DMV would not have had word of the warrant. What they would have had would be a record of the HOLD or STOP on your license. That's not a warrant, but the clerk at the DMV may have assumed it was. The clerk at the DMV does not have generally access to the WPS of CLETS/NCIC.

And until you pay it or resolve the citation in some manner through the court, the hold, warrant, or whatever will remain until satisfied and lifted.
What would my course of action be given that I can't pay a fine? Would I have to serve time in jail for it? If so, how long would I typically have to serve being that it's an $860 fine?
 

sandyclaus

Senior Member
Here's a best-case scenario: Turn yourself in to pay for the fines by serving time, and you'll temporarily have a place to stay - with 3 hots and a cot.
 

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