Great Way To Start The Morning!`

[Chamillion]

What is the name of your state? TX

This morning I was pulled over by an HPD cop for speeding. (68 in a 60) The problem came about when he came back to my car and told me that I had a warrant for a traffic ticket. When I informed the cop that I had payed the ticket alredy last week, he asked for a receipt. I then told him that I didn't have one because it was paid over the phone to the clerk, but you can see in my bank statement that the city drafted my account for it. My fiancee was on her way, and he told me that if she got there before the warrants were verified, everything would be okay.

Naturally she didn't, and I was taken to jail. My car was impounded, and I missed the day of work because of this crap. When I get there, my fiancee had already spoken with the clerk and they saw where I had paid, but the person that took the payment had not lifted the warrant. I didn't spend any time other than what it took to get booked in and then leave, but it was a major inconvenience by their fault.

Is there anything I can do about this, such as seeking reimbursement from the city because I now have to pay 125 dollars to get my car out of the impound, I missed a day of work, and it was all their fault for not clearing stuff up.

 

[CdwJava]

The city is not responsible for the court's failure to remove the warrant, so your beef is with the court, not the city's police department.

A warrant is an ORDER by a judge to do something. In this case the judge issued an order to take you into custody for a traffic violation you failed to take care of. Whether these warrants can be cleared up by simply paying the cite is not something I can answer as I don't know TX law. However, it does seem odd to me that you can simply clear it up by paying a ticket ... but, different states, different laws.

You can make a claim to the court or seek a small claims action against them, but keep in mind that the courts often have immunity for these sorts of things unless the action was intentional and malicious.

I would first start with the clerk's supervisor and explain what happened. If they acknowledge an error was made on their behalf that might give you a little more grounds for a claim. If it is standard fare that it takes a week or more for a warrant to clear, then you may not be able to go anywhere.

- Carl

 

[Chamillion]

The way it was supposed to work was I pay the DPS fee, cause the actual citation itself was paid..there was a 30 dollar DPS fee that was charged as well that I hadn't paid. So when it was paid last week, they were supposed to have lifted the warrant because I had no financial obligations to the city from that moment forth.

Yea, paying the ticket, or posting bond to set a court date lifts the warrant here...at least for Houston that's how they work it out.

I'm going to call the court clerk and see if there is anything that can be done about it. Although it was a mistake..I still think that I should be reimbursed for that mistake. Whether or not it actually happens...that's a whole nother' story.

 

[Zigner]

http://www.houstontx.gov/courts/payfine.html

This guy's story doesn't ring true...