Many people with old tickets or unresolved misdemeanor charges have received notice of the upcoming the "2014 Great Warrant Roundup," and huge billboards give the following warning: "GREAT WARRANT ROUNDUP: PAY YOUR FINE OR GO TO JAIL." With letters large enough to give you a headache, the billboard leaves its reader with only two options: (1) pay your fine; or (2) be arrested and taken to jail. This blanket statement is terrible advice to give everyone and an inaccurate statement of the law depending on the type of warrant. Therefore, I wanted to help out people who have some old warrants, tickets, or unresolved misdemeanors.
Here comes the 2014 Great Warrant Roundup in Texas!
All across Texas, the Roundup will begin on March 1st and continue through March 9th. The purpose of the Roundup is to bring in as much revenue as possible for unresolved Class C misdemeanor warrants (for example, tickets related to speeding, no seatbelt, etc.). Practically speaking, this means that police officers will be (1) targeting people with old misdemeanor warrants that may otherwise be ignored; and (2) making substantially more arrests than usual. Officers across Texas have warned that they will arrest people at their homes and jobs if they don't pay the fines, but paying the fine is the last thing you want to do with most warrants.
There are many types of warrants, but the Roundup focuses on two: capias warrants and alias warrants. Capias warrants are issued when a person does not comply with court orders. A common example is when someone enters into a plea agreement but then fails to follow the payment plan. The billboard is correct that these fines should be paid since there is already a conviction.
However (and this is a big however), alias warrants should not be paid in full. Alias warrants are issued when a person fails to respond to a citation or show up for court. If there has not yet been a plea of guilty or no contest entered, an attorney can help you post bond and lift the warrant, which gives you another chance to plead not guilty. On the other hand, paying the fine on an alias warrant results in a conviction for that offense.
A conviction for a Class C misdemeanor may seem insignificant because there is only a maximum of a $500 fine and no jail time, but there are many other consequences that result from paying fines instead of contesting the charge. Some of these consequences include:
- Permanent conviction on your driving record
- Higher insurance rates
- Points against your DPS driving record
- Suspension of your driver's license
- Yearly surcharge payments to keep license valid
- Future arrest for driving while license suspended or invalid
Therefore, paying the fine is rarely the best option to resolve misdemeanor warrants, so don't take the billboard's advice without first consulting an attorney. The 2014 Great Warrant Roundup is coming soon. Get an attorney who can give you another chance and fight back.
If you have warrants, call Attorney Bryan E. Wilson at (817) 440-3953 and get the Texas Law Hawk on your side today.