MIP out of state

What is the name of your state? Washington

i am from montana and was in washington recently and was busted for underage drinking. it is a very long drive to where i got the ticket and i am not sure i want to make the trip. i could pay $500 and not have to go there but i was wondering if anyone could tell me what the fines and penalties would be if i did drive there. would it cost less then the $500?? or (not that i am planning this at all just wondering) what would happen if i just didnt pay anything at all or go to court??

You'd probably get a warrant for your arrest for failing to appear and take care of the matter. But, who knows ... maybe they just send it to collections to get their fine.

Carl

realcomfy said:

What is the name of your state? Washington

i am from montana and was in washington recently and was busted for underage drinking. it is a very long drive to where i got the ticket and i am not sure i want to make the trip. i could pay $500 and not have to go there but i was wondering if anyone could tell me what the fines and penalties would be if i did drive there. would it cost less then the $500?? or (not that i am planning this at all just wondering) what would happen if i just didnt pay anything at all or go to court??

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MIP in Washington is a gross misdomeaner punishable by up to $5000 fine and one year in jail. I am not sure where you got the $500 amount from, this is usually handled by a criminal citation with a mandatory court appearance or by a trip to the jail with an mandatory court appearance.

If you FTA a warrant will be issued for your arrest.

i got the $500 amount from a letter they sent me. it said that if i didnt want to go all the way there i could pay the $500 (it said something about an arrangment...i dont know what that means either) and it would be the same as a guilty plea. but all i need to know is if the fine will be less then $500 if i drive all the way over there. a little more information would be that i am 20, we were sitting in a car in a parking lot and there were three of us and all of us were ticketed. this is the first time this has happened to me and i am not a habitual drinker in the least. i rarly do it but i had gotten into a fight with a girl earlier in the night so we were sitting cooling off. we were drinking beer but just a 12 pack not that it really matters. so anyone who maybe has gotten this type of ticket in washington before could tell me how much their ticket was or anyone who knows. i know people from montana who have gotten them and they said their tickets were only $150 so if it gets dropped that much then i would want to go.

another question....if i were to skip this court date would i be given a chance at another our would a warrent for my arrest be issued immediatly??

one more...if i do get warrent for my arrest in washington and i get in trouble here in montana can i still be arrested even though i am not in washington?? can they arrest me here in montana and take me over to washington and force me to stad trial??

If a warrant is issued the COULD arrest you in MT for extradition to WA, but chances are they won't.

However, the warrant will dog you forever - or until WA decides to remove it.

If you apply for a job with a background check that searches state records, they will find that you are wanted ... so don't count on government jobs or ones that require a clean background. And it may even make you ineligable for student loans and the like as well.

Basically, it will remain until you take care of it. And I don't know about you, but looking over my should for life would not sound fun.

And unless you KNOW where your future career is going to take you (and nobody really does), you may not want this monkey on your back.

Carl

thanx carl....that should help clear some stuff up. i got the advice not to go from my dad but he is the kinda guy that tells the law to shove it so i wasnt sure what to do about it

realcomfy said:

one more...if i do get warrent for my arrest in washington and i get in trouble here in montana can i still be arrested even though i am not in washington?? can they arrest me here in montana and take me over to washington and force me to stad trial??

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I will try to answer all three of your posts.

Since this is a criminal charge, the arraingment is where you enter a plea to that charge. The $500 sounds like a penalty and plea rolled into one being offered so you do not have to return and attend the arraingment.

If you miss your arraingment a warrant will be issued that day.

It is extremely unlikely this will be an extraditable warrant from out of state. However, the warrant will never go away and if you get stopped for anything in Washington and we run a name check, the warrant will appear. Depending on where you are depends on whether or not off to jail you go.

Will the penalty be less than $500, it could run the entire course; a deferred finding (guilty plea-but keep your nose clean for a year and it goes away), to community service, to drug/alcohol class, - to $5000 and a year in jail. And you wont find out until you appear in court.

Personally, as old as you are, I would go to court talk to the prosecutor and judge and work out a plea asking that the charge go away after a year if you keep yourself out of trouble. IF this is your first offense with no history it should be granted.