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paisleydazy

Guest
What is the name of your state? CA

Hi, I hope someone can help me with this one..I'll try to keep it short...2 years ago I was pulled over for expired registration(had insurance),was issued a notice to appear in court, the car broke down, so I stopped driving all together but....I didn't appear in court. Now 2 years later it was time to renew my license and found $2000 in fines and my license suspended. I'm aware that I have to pay these fines but the DMV has explained that I must go directly to the court to take care of this. My question here is that I have been warned that it is likely that a warrant has been issued and I could go to jail. Someone else told me not to go to court unless I have ALL of the money to pay for the fines. I would gladly make arrangements with the court to pay but I don't want to show up only to go to jail. To me it would seem unlikely for something like this but I don't want to take any chances. Can someone please let me know if I have been misinformed? any advice is appreciated.:confused:
 


TYRIS

Member
paisleydazy said:
What is the name of your state? CA

Hi, I hope someone can help me with this one..I'll try to keep it short...2 years ago I was pulled over for expired registration(had insurance),was issued a notice to appear in court, the car broke down, so I stopped driving all together but....I didn't appear in court. Now 2 years later it was time to renew my license and found $2000 in fines and my license suspended. I'm aware that I have to pay these fines but the DMV has explained that I must go directly to the court to take care of this. My question here is that I have been warned that it is likely that a warrant has been issued and I could go to jail. Someone else told me not to go to court unless I have ALL of the money to pay for the fines. I would gladly make arrangements with the court to pay but I don't want to show up only to go to jail. To me it would seem unlikely for something like this but I don't want to take any chances. Can someone please let me know if I have been misinformed? any advice is appreciated.:confused:


-go to the local court house where you failed to appear. contact the traffic clerk and advise them that you missed your court date and have a failure to appear that you would like to take care of. the court should set you up with a new court date and clear the fta.

it will be up to the court, but from what i've seen, most of the courts only want the money and will allow a payment plan.

if you chose not to do this and you get pulled over, the likelyhood of you going to jail is pretty good.

Tyris
 
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paisleydazy

Guest
Thanks for the info! I feel a little better about going down to court...I'll post the results for anyone who might be in a similar situation;)
 

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
paisleydazy said:
Thanks for the info! I feel a little better about going down to court...I'll post the results for anyone who might be in a similar situation;)


My response:

Yes, please let us know how it went for you . . . after you get out of jail !


Failure to Appear
If you do not appear in court when required, the court can order any (or all) of the following actions:

Bail Forfeited.

Issuance of a warrant for your arrest.

Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend your driver's license.

A new violation (Failure to Appear - FTA) can be added to your case. The punishment for this violation can be a jail term of up to six months in jail and $1,000 fine.

Pursuant to section 1214.1 of the Penal Code, in addition to any other penalty, the court may impose an additional $250 assessment against any defendant who fails to appear in court for any proceeding.


IAAL
 
P

paisleydazy

Guest
My response to: I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

I AM ALWAYS LIABLE said:




My response:

Yes, please let us know how it went for you . . . after you get out of jail !


Failure to Appear
If you do not appear in court when required, the court can order any (or all) of the following actions:

Bail Forfeited.

Issuance of a warrant for your arrest.

Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend your driver's license.

A new violation (Failure to Appear - FTA) can be added to your case. The punishment for this violation can be a jail term of up to six months in jail and $1,000 fine.

Pursuant to section 1214.1 of the Penal Code, in addition to any other penalty, the court may impose an additional $250 assessment against any defendant who fails to appear in court for any proceeding.


IAAL
Ok....now I'm confused again....Am I just going to end up in jail?!!
I realize I screwed up but I think that would be a little drastic for having expired tags and showing up in court a little late...ok so 2 years is more than a little late but....at least I've haven't been driving in that time and I am willing to pay the entire fine. What would you suggest? Other than changing my identity and skipping town.....
 
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I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
My response:

Oh, you've got to do better than merely "skip town." That won't help you.

I understand Brazil is quite beautiful this time of year.

IAAL
 

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