Warrant for my Arrest

[Genx87]

10 days is ridiculous.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Man it's a weird system over there. Over here, traffic fines are issued and administered by the police. If a ticket goes unpaid for 30 days, they add an extra ~$25 for administration costs. After 60 days, it gets transferred to the courts, and they add an extra $120 for costs and set a court date, usually around 30 days in the future. If you pay within that time, you're no longer required to go to court (which seems obvious, seeing as you've paid the fine and all).

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Isn't payment a response? Surely you don't have to physically appear before a judge for such a minor infringement. Otherwise your court systems would grind to a halt, no?

It works like this, clerks office receives the ticket and awaits payment. Payment doesn't come. Clerks office sends ticket to court, at least a day and more likely a week goes by. In the mean time, payment is received. Court clerk has no time to check database online, they have a physical copy of the ticket and it's in process. The court clerks goal is to get the judge to sign off on every piece of paperwork they have before they go home. Judge signs and bench warrant is automatically issued. Don't ask me why the paid ticket doesn't 'automatically' cancel the warrant. At a guess, they're probably on two entirely separate networks because government loves doing things that way. Back in the real world, our red headed step child, runs a red light, gets stopped, car gets towed and hilarity ensues.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Man no wonder justice is such a mess over there. Are traffic tickets still issued on carbon paper? Why don't they computerise their court and police systems?

 

[lxskllr]

Man no wonder the legal system is such a mess over there. Are traffic tickets still issued on carbon paper? Why don't they computerise their court and police systems?

ftfy

There's no justice involved in our system. I used the correct term, and I encourage everyone to do likewise.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Man no wonder justice is such a mess over there. Are traffic tickets still issued on carbon paper? Why don't they computerise their court and police systems?

They ARE computerized. None of the various systems talk to each other by design. Think about it, 90 % of what government does is manage information. That include the misbegotten sheep counters in your country. Now, what do you think would happen to the thousands of people who work for the government if there was an integrated computer system that efficiently handled requests for information? That's right, the end of the world as we know it.

 

[J-Money]

I think your biggest problem is going to be Predator Drones.

 

[LTC8K6]

10 days to pay or a warrant is issued is crazy. I looked it up though, and it's true.

 

[davmat787]

10 days to pay or a warrant is issued is crazy. I looked it up though, and it's true.

I agree, and it is prejudicial against those who might be living paycheck to paycheck and paid every two weeks or a teacher that is paid once a month.

That said, you do have the opportunity to go in within those ten days and make arrangements with the clerk/court to get an extension or whatever. Not sure how common it is to be granted but I am fairly certain that at least here in WA you can ask for an extension if you explain yourself correctly. It has been a long time since I have had a ticket but I think we get 15 days here in WA.

 

[Doboji]

I actually thought I was being pretty prompt to square the thing away less than 2 weeks after the ticket... I will call the court on Monday and see what to do...

 

[LTC8K6]

I don't even think this ticket involves points....

§ 3111. Obedience to traffic-control devices.
(a) General rule.--Unless otherwise directed by a uniformed
police officer or any appropriately attired person authorized to
direct, control or regulate traffic, the driver of any vehicle
shall obey the instructions of any applicable official traffic-
control device placed or held in accordance with the provisions
of this title, subject to the privileges granted the driver of
an emergency vehicle in this title.
(b) Proper position and legibility of device.--No provision
of this title for which official traffic-control devices are
required shall be enforced against an alleged violator if at the
time and place of the alleged violation an official device is
not in proper position and sufficiently legible to be seen by an
ordinarily observant person. Whenever a particular section does
not state that official traffic-control devices are required,
the section shall be effective even though no devices are
erected or in place.
(c) Presumption of authorized placement.--Whenever official
traffic-control devices are placed or held in position
approximately conforming to the requirements of this title, the
devices shall be presumed to have been so placed by the official
act or direction of lawful authority, unless the contrary shall
be established by competent evidence.
(d) Presumption of proper devices.--Any official traffic-
control device placed or held pursuant to the provisions of this
title and purporting to conform to the lawful requirements
pertaining to such devices shall be presumed to comply with the
requirements of this title, unless the contrary shall be
established by competent evidence.


http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/vehicle_code/chapter31.pdf

The officer cut him a big break, I think. This ticket doesn't carry any points as far as I can tell. It's lower than a speeding ticket.

 

[ichy]

Call a lawyer right now. It won't be cheap but you do NOT want to spend even a night in jail.

 

[LTC8K6]

Just call the court and tell them you accidentally sent your payment in late. This is like a parking ticket.

 

[ichy]

No, a bench warrant is not like a parking ticket.

 

[LTC8K6]

No, a bench warrant is not like a parking ticket.

Who said anything about the warrant? Is someone else using my account?

The ticket is like a parking ticket. Non-moving citation. He just needs to call and ask what to do to take care of the notice.

 

[GaryJohnson]

He just needs to call and ask what to do to take care of the notice.

The notice itself probably tells him what to do next.

It probably consits of:
1. paying the ticket (which he already did)
2. making sure PA notifies his state that the ticket has been paid (which they probably do automatically but it might take weeks to process)
3. going to the dmv and getting his license reinstated (for a fee)

 

[WaTaGuMp]

You are going down sonny, next stop, making license plates.

 

[ioni]

It works like this, clerks office receives the ticket and awaits payment. Payment doesn't come. Clerks office sends ticket to court, at least a day and more likely a week goes by. In the mean time, payment is received. Court clerk has no time to check database online, they have a physical copy of the ticket and it's in process. The court clerks goal is to get the judge to sign off on every piece of paperwork they have before they go home. Judge signs and bench warrant is automatically issued. Don't ask me why the paid ticket doesn't 'automatically' cancel the warrant. At a guess, they're probably on two entirely separate networks because government loves doing things that way. Back in the real world, our red headed step child, runs a red light, gets stopped, car gets towed and hilarity ensues.

Bullshit. If everything is stored in a filing cabinet, I can see no time to check. A database? I don't think so.