Warrant for my Arrest, Police refuse to detain me?

I'll try to keep this short 'n sweet.

I have an open warrant for failure to appear. The appearance was for a ticket I received in Aug. 2008, Failure to provide proof of Insurance.

The car I was driving did have insurance, but I could not find the paperwork. I contacted the local court of the municipality, and they state I need to pay $750 and the hold that has been placed on my license will be dropped, along with the warrant.

I informed them I am indigent, and am turning myself over to their custody.
An officer came to talk to me, and said "We cant book you today, come back on Monday." I turned myself in on Thursday.

I said its no problem, I just want the hold off of my license so I can get an endorsement (HAZMAT) I need to get a JOB. The officer told me the hold would not come off until I paid, that there is no other option. They do not have any jail cells in this town.

I just finished telling him, I am indigent. I have no way to pay, I have no job. He told me the judge will keep the hold on my license until I paid, one way or the other.

To me, this constitutes extortion, and I told him so. He got offended and that was the end of the conversation.

My question is, can they legally hold my license hostage, denying me the ability to provide for myself and my family? I turned myself in, and intend to again on Monday.

Hopefully I can ask for community service to work off the debt, but judging by the attitudes of the officers, I believe it will be a kangaroo court.

When they book me, I plan to ask for a court appointed attorney, which will probably be the judge! Oh well, I just had to vent. I never been arrested before because of a warrant, and it just tickled me that they wouldn't arrest me!

Only in America!

If you see the judge you can plead your case with him. If he likes you he has the power to throw the whole thing out. DON'T use the word extortion with him!
Simply explain your circumstances and plead that you need your license to support your family and you will be happy to pay the fine once you can gain employment. ALWAYS refer to him as "YOUR HONOR" and if wouldn't hurt your case to have your wife and kids with you in court.
Try to get a copy of your insurance from the time of the ticket so you can prove your innocence on that point.
Beyond that you have my sincere sympathies and hope for the best.
Good luck friend

I feel your pain. i got a cought speeding, and i know if you cant aford it dont do it, but this guy gave me a ticket speeding on my familys privet property. $550 and the judge wont give me a reduction. I CANT PAY IT. i dont know what to do..... i work, i cant do comunity service with out losing my job. i've cut everything but my cheap cell phone bill, house bill and food. cant be done!!

Sorry, but I personally have ZERO sympathy for anyone that failes to keep auto insurance. If you had wrecked your car it could be a nightmare for the innocent party. Unless your state demands uninsured drivers insurance...which I have to pay extras for to cover people like you..then the poor sap you run into is screwed.

If you can afford gasoline and oil, you can afford insurance..AND pay your fine. Being indigent is NO excuse...When I was indigent many years ago I WALKED to a job and saved until I could get a car..and then paid all the fees and insurance and crap to be able to drive it.

Driving is a PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT. You must pay insurance and taxes and inspection fees and pay for the drivers license, etc. If you do not pay, then you do not drive.

I hate the thought of someone getting away with not paying when I have to. You deserve the ticket, and i hope they hold you up until you pay it off.

It is not like anyone is keeping you from walking or hitching rides...or whatever people do that have screwed up their driving privilges...they are NOT stopping you from working, just from getting away with a violation...why should YOU get to escape with no penalty? We all have to take responsibility, and if you want to make things right, you should pay the fine and then make sure you do not mess up again...but the issue is YOU, not the system.

so this happened in 2008 , and you have not between now and then , found or sent off for a copy of your insurance docs?Should this not have been at the front of your mind bearing in mind your apparent concern about your job ?

Sry op but I find this tale a bit fishy,

Why would the police arrest you , the case is probably going through court proceedings , so they will leave it, esp for a driving offence for the courts to sort out, Do you not think the judge will find it strange that you have not got copies of your insurance ?in at least 18 mnths?

RichieRich...starred..


[edit on 25-6-2010 by gambon]

reply to post by richierich


Please reread the OP again.

Please think before responding to someones post.

Now please sit in the corner over there and think about what you've done.

yeah this story sounds about right as far as them not letting you sit the ticket out. i know when i got arrested for tickets that turned into warrants i was put in jail. however, within 30min of me and another guy talking about our options of sitting out the tickets in jail they PR bonded both of us.

they want money, bad.

reply to post by ErEhWoN


It seems what you have is a "Bench warrant" which is not a typical arrest warrant (See wiki Arrest warrants). This type of warrant might or might not cause you to be arrested. If it's something minor like a fine they are not going to waste tax payer money by throwing you in jail.

I do like your weekend work type idea and imagine a judge might allow you to do that. Also try asking the judge for an allowance to drive specifically to work and back (if that helps); they sometimes will make an exception to your warrant like that for work/school purposes. Also mention strongly that you CAN'T work in your field without a license - don't get all whiney, just be strong and concise in what you have to say and what you want.

Good luck!

reply to post by ErEhWoN


Why did you fail to appear?

You had something better to do that day did you?

Failing to appear at a court hearing is going to put a big black mark next to your name.

You should have done something about the ticket immediately.

Failing that, you should have turned up to plead your case to the judge.

Since you did neither, you're screwed really and it's your lack of action that is to blame.

reply to post by richierich


Don't mean to derail this thread for the OP but I wanted to add something in reference to what you posted above. Insurance is a racket! They paid enough politicians via lobbyists etc to make it mandatory to carry insurance and that is basically the same racket they are doing now with health insurance. It used to be the case you bought insurance if YOU wanted it to cover your OWN car for damages caused in an accident! If you chose not to have insurance then that was your choice. You were on your own if your car was damaged but you didn't have to have it. Somewhere along the line they convinced all the sheeple that it's to save others from you! Dumbest bunch of criminal BS I've ever heard!

Get a clue people! It's just another corporate criminal syndicate!

[edit on 25-6-2010 by Redwookieaz]

A friend of mine had some warrants for traffic tickets and also a drug problem. She turned herself in and demanded to be jailed. They refused to jail her. She needed to be locked up to quit the drugs but they would not help. I offered to tie her up and punish her but she was not interested.

Originally posted by Redwookieaz
It used to be the case you bought insurance if YOU wanted it to cover your OWN car for damages caused in an accident! If you chose not to have insurance then that was your choice. You were on your own if your car was damaged but you didn't have to have it. Somewhere along the line they convinced all the sheeple that it's to save others from you! Dumbest bunch of criminal BS I've ever heard!

This a such a misinformed statement. To this day, you DO NOT have to carry collision coverage on a vehicle you own. You must only carry liability coverage. And it's not a racket. It protects you from being sued if you are responsible for damage another vehicle and protects the person that had their vehicle damaged by you.

ETA:

On topic, I got a speeding ticket on my way home from a trip a few weeks ago. Classic scenario....small town...saw rental car....knew I wouldn't drive 200+ miles back to the court to fight the ticket. I wasn't speeding...not even close to speeding.

Anyhow, I pondered not paying the citation. I wondered what would they really do to me if I didn't. I pondered the notion of serving my time rather than pay the fine.....of course that was all daydreaming. I paid the ticket on the last possible day...which cost me more, because I had to send it express mail with return receipt to make sure it got there before a warrant was issued.

Lesson learned: Never travel! Small town cops (Hico, TX) are corrupt. Must be nice collecting a pay check based upon lies and coercion.

[edit on 25-6-2010 by Aggie Man]

I work for a major urban Police Dept. in Michigan (Detroit), I can tell you every night most suburbs will not pick up people arrested on their warrants. Citing manpower issues, they will however want to know if the person can pay the bond $$$$, if they cant pay then they (police dept.) does not want them.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Ok I'm sorry again if this is off topic but you are flat out wrong and I am not misinformed! Collision and liability insurance as they are used have NOTHING to do with what I said. Why don't you read a little history on the subject beffore you call me misinformed?

My question is, can they legally hold my license hostage, denying me the ability to provide for myself and my family?

Yes they can, your drivers licence is not a right.

Originally posted by richierich
Sorry, but I personally have ZERO sympathy for anyone that failes to keep auto insurance. If you had wrecked your car it could be a nightmare for the innocent party. Unless your state demands uninsured drivers insurance...which I have to pay extras for to cover people like you..then the poor sap you run into is screwed.

If you can afford gasoline and oil, you can afford insurance..AND pay your fine. Being indigent is NO excuse...When I was indigent many years ago I WALKED to a job and saved until I could get a car..and then paid all the fees and insurance and crap to be able to drive it.

Driving is a PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT. You must pay insurance and taxes and inspection fees and pay for the drivers license, etc. If you do not pay, then you do not drive.

I hate the thought of someone getting away with not paying when I have to. You deserve the ticket, and i hope they hold you up until you pay it off.

It is not like anyone is keeping you from walking or hitching rides...or whatever people do that have screwed up their driving privilges...they are NOT stopping you from working, just from getting away with a violation...why should YOU get to escape with no penalty? We all have to take responsibility, and if you want to make things right, you should pay the fine and then make sure you do not mess up again...but the issue is YOU, not the system.

I agree with you.If this person is "indigent" as they say they are then why are they out driving around?Of all the accidents that i've been involved in(2 which were both the other persons fault) none of those people had insurance.

Also even if you do get the ticket taken care of you will most likely have to pay another fee to the DMV or whatever it is called in your state to "Reinstate" your license. Everyone wants a cut!

I have had my DL suspended for almost 10 years now. I drive with no insurance and I have a warrant out for my arrest for failure to appear. Will I pay them? Never. If I'm doing something that warrants me being pulled over I know I'm going to jail. It's really not a big deal. You spend less money bonding out than you would paying the surcharges, fines, and all that other BS. Just don't show up for court. It's really that easy. They have way more pressing things to do than come hunt your but down for a traffic ticket warrant. If you follow ALL of the rules on the highway, no speeding, complete stops, turn signals and all that other BS you WILL not have any reason to be pulled over for them to find out that you do not have a DL or insurance. I have driven for 10 years with no lic and I don't ever plan on getting it back. I have a state issued ID that is valid as far as official documentation for anyone that might need an official ID from me. I have NEVER been in an accident. I have had people hit me but I have NEVER been so completely oblivious to my surroundings that I cause someone damage to their vehicle. If I did happen to hit someone and it was entirely my fault, I will fix the damage to their car myself. I know how to do body,mechanical repairs to any vehicle. I am an ASE Master Mechanic. So in a nutshell you can drive forever with no insurance and no lic and it will be absolutely ok. I have no one knocking on my door wanting to know why I have no insurance or DL. I have no one pulling me over just on a tag check. My registration and inspection are always current and up to date. In fact I pay for insurance for one month just so I can get my inspection and registration done and then let it drop. I drive just fine. I don't need to pay for something I'm not going to need. If I hit you I'll take care of it.

Originally posted by pwrthtbe
I have had my DL suspended for almost 10 years now. I drive with no insurance and I have a warrant out for my arrest for failure to appear. Will I pay them? Never. If I'm doing something that warrants me being pulled over I know I'm going to jail. It's really not a big deal. You spend less money bonding out than you would paying the surcharges, fines, and all that other BS. Just don't show up for court. It's really that easy. They have way more pressing things to do than come hunt your but down for a traffic ticket warrant. If you follow ALL of the rules on the highway, no speeding, complete stops, turn signals and all that other BS you WILL not have any reason to be pulled over for them to find out that you do not have a DL or insurance. I have driven for 10 years with no lic and I don't ever plan on getting it back. I have a state issued ID that is valid as far as official documentation for anyone that might need an official ID from me. I have NEVER been in an accident. I have had people hit me but I have NEVER been so completely oblivious to my surroundings that I cause someone damage to their vehicle. If I did happen to hit someone and it was entirely my fault, I will fix the damage to their car myself. I know how to do body,mechanical repairs to any vehicle. I am an ASE Master Mechanic. So in a nutshell you can drive forever with no insurance and no lic and it will be absolutely ok. I have no one knocking on my door wanting to know why I have no insurance or DL. I have no one pulling me over just on a tag check. My registration and inspection are always current and up to date. In fact I pay for insurance for one month just so I can get my inspection and registration done and then let it drop. I drive just fine. I don't need to pay for something I'm not going to need. If I hit you I'll take care of it.

And if you kill someone whilst driving...what then?...your a selfish prat imo .......

reply to post by gambon


The same rules would apply to that scenario, that would apply to any other person.