Foo - Anyone ever deal with a warrant??

I got a letter today saying I have a warrant... I know its for the community service I didnt do. So if I go on monday to court what are the chances of me being arrested??? The bail is $5000 and its for court in San Mateo.

Call the court and ask...


Also, start counting your pennies.

yeah they just said to come on in.... I'm just trying to figure out if they are going to arrest me and keep me there.

They might. If so, all that will happen is that they will arrest you, book you and let you go within a couple of hours. It's a record that they have to keep ON your record. You will be given another court date. There should be no need to keep you overnight unless you have done something waaaay worse.

ohh ok that makes me feel a lot better. Its not the actual jail part im worried about its me dissapearing for a few days and getting fired.

Let your work know that you have to take care of an out of town emergency and will let them know if it will take longer. You're not lying! :)

And at least you are proving an interest in taking care of the problem.

They might. If so, all that will happen is that they will arrest you, book you and let you go within a couple of hours. It's a record that they have to keep ON your record. You will be given another court date. There should be no need to keep you overnight unless you have done something waaaay worse.

This is the most likely scenario...just make sure you go to court!!! My previous job was as a bail bondsman and we had to deal with this sort of thing all the time.

Cheers,

Brian

For some reason, I think it more like this

http://homepage.smc.edu/engfer_mark/PosterHI.jpg

There IS a resembelance ;)

I've had a bench warrant before for failure to appear, for a traffic violation....I mailed the check to pay it off, but it must have gotten lost in the mail. Wasn't too bad, just annoying.

Yes, Just go in MORE then likely they will just set a new court date, you'll get lectured by the Judge on your reasoning for not showing up to the first hearing. I work in law. Don't ignore this problem something so minor can totally be avoided.

Goodluck and take care of your business.

Snowy.

Yeah...definitely not going to get better if you ignore it. What works well around here is to go in with a plan to get your business taken care of, not just an excuse.

Good luck.

...but if community service was a term of probation... the end might not be to your liking.

...but if community service was a term of probation... the end might not be to your liking.


Yeah, and by skipping out on the community service the old charge against you is still active and can be brought back up. Most definitely don't skip out on this appointment. You may want to consult a lawyer.

I was once a bad kid that faced over 100 hours of community service. I never showed up to it. That was over 15 years ago :D

But alas you got busted so I would consider talking to a lawyer. Don't think for one second that they will not lock you up because they can and might and with your luck they will.

i once had a warrant out on me for assault & battery. i just sic'ed my lawyer on the idiot lawyer that caused the charges to be filed, and it all went away.

doesn't help your case, but it's my only warrant experience.

Call the local Public Defenders, or some Law Clinic Thingie (whatever it might be called in your town), or some other place where someone with legal training might be persuaded to dispense legal advice without taking your bank account, real estate and soul in return. They'll be able to give you an idea of the law in general, and more importantly an insight into the people who work at the Courthouse, especially the Judge. If the judge has a reputation for being decent, fine. If not, you might have to move....might I suggest Australia? :D
Wear nice clothes, and grovel a lot. Offering to bear the judge's children is a bit over the top, but working terms such as 'sorry', apology', and/or 'remorse' (even if you don't mean them) into every sentence you can is probably a good idea.

If you've never been in trouble before, you might think about simply saying you forgot, as legal stuff and being in this kind of jam is so out of your experience. Use this particular suggestion with great care.

...If you've never been in trouble before, you might think about simply saying you forgot, as legal stuff and being in this kind of jam is so out of your experience. Use this particular suggestion with great care.

Avoid the "those orange vests are so gauche." faux pas. See where it got Martha Stewart?

Time has not been kind to warrant.

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/newszine/staff/Homepages/Fall02/buchter/Warrant/janicar.jpg

One time some dumb ass hit me with his car, and I took him to court. Thats not the point. The guy there who had the hearing before mine who skipped out of town in 1989 as a teenager who was sentenced to 60 hours of community service for marijuana possession is the point. This was 2001, and the judge said he was being nice since he came in on his own, and then he gave him 300 hours of community service, and a year of house arrest. Hope you don't get hit with a similary tough judge.

Bench Warrant or Arrest Warrant? Ask for paperwork.

I got a letter today saying I have a warrant... I know its for the community service I didnt do. So if I go on monday to court what are the chances of me being arrested??? The bail is $5000 and its for court in San Mateo.
Call the San Mateo County Bar Association and see if they have a Lawyer Referral Service. I'm pretty sure they do - I think all county bar associations in the Bay Area do. If so, call the service, describe the problem, and they'll give you the name of two or three lawyers who know something about this stuff (almost certainly criminal defense attorneys). Most of these services are set up such that lawyers on the list are required to offer a free or low-cost initial consultation ("low-cost" is relative, I know). Then go see somebody who can give you an informed, intellegent answer.

This is too serious to trust to us BF yahoos. You can't even trust my gut on this, and I'm a lawyer - but I don't do criminal law, so I'm about as useless as boobs on a bull in terms of giving you an answer you can count on, and that will be true of everyone who reads this, unless they happen to be a criminal attorney who practices regularly in San Mateo County . . . . None of you fit that description? Thought so. So please, helvetica, get professional advice on this before you go into the belly of the beast.

One thing I do know is that the fact that you now have a warrant out for you means that any routine traffic stop, pretty much anywhere in California and maybe throught the US (I have no idea how universally available warrant info is) could land you in the slammer - it happened to a college roommate in the pre-ATM days (yeah, I'm a fossil:rolleyes: ), and coming up with bail for him was no fun. I remember coming to post the bail and pick him up in West L.A. - his eyes were as big as saucers. I don't think he enjoyed his time enjoying the hospitality of the area lock-up. The point is that you absolutely want to get this cleaned up, but get your ducks in a row first so you don't make it harder or more expensive than is absolutely has to be.

Just noticed your location. The Alameda County Bar Association definitely has a lawyer referral program. Give 'em a call. And what the heck, try the San Mateo County one, too. Couldn't hurt.

And good luck. I hope you can make this all go away quickly and easily.

One time some dumb ass hit me with his car, and I took him to court. Thats not the point. The guy there who had the hearing before mine who skipped out of town in 1989 as a teenager who was sentenced to 60 hours of community service for marijuana possession is the point. This was 2001, and the judge said he was being nice since he came in on his own, and then he gave him 300 hours of community service, and a year of house arrest. Hope you don't get hit with a similary tough judge.

LOL - Turned his self in ??????? He must have lived a hard life in guilt for those 12 years. Only so much a man can take before he turns his self in :)

Helvetica trust me even county lock up for 3 or 4 days really really sucks listen to bikingshearer...

I got a letter today saying I have a warrant... I know its for the community service I didnt do. So if I go on monday to court what are the chances of me being arrested??? The bail is $5000 and its for court in San Mateo.

Nick's ass gon' get busted. Better ride that fixie reeeal fast, boy.

Show up in your orange vest with a trash bag, and maybe they'll go easy on you.

great band...i've got all their tapes