Am I getting a visit from the police this weekend?

July 24, 2009 7:43 PM

Are the police going to come knocking on my door this weekend for an arrest warrant issued on court fines I forgot to pay?

A couple of months ago, I was pulled over for a lapsed registration (I live in Massachusetts). I was told to go to court and I'd be given an amount to pay, and I'd be fine.

I went to court, was told to pay $500, and was given two months to pay it. In the meantime, I was diagnosed with a very serious illness, and in going through all that, I lost track of the time when I'd have to pay the fine. I honestly thought it was due this coming Monday, but I missed by two days (the money was due on Wednesday).

Today, I got a letter in the mail saying that a warrant has been issued for my arrest, which didn't come until after the courthouse closed. It's a Friday, and now I'm terrified that the police are going to come knocking on my door.

I'm not going to drive anywhere (obviously) over the weekend, and will rush over to the courthouse bright and early on Monday morning, but I'm nauseated over the idea that I'm going to wake up to the police knocking on my door.

If the courthouse was open 24 hours, I'd have cash in-hand and be there right now, but it's not, and I'm not the kind of person who doesn't pay his bills.

What do I do?

posted by anonymous to law & government (13 comments total)

The police have more important things to worry about than a tardy $500 fine. They are kicking in doors and severing warrants for real criminals.

You will, however, be arrested should any officer be in a position to run a check on you. That is to say, you shouldn't drive at all. If you're pulled over and the cop runs your license the warrant will come up.

Whether you should even go to court is up in the air imho. I would contact an attorney right now if I were you. Rather than show up Monday morning, I would call the court, explain what happened and ask how (or if) you can still pay the fine without going to jail. It maybe too late.

You are a fugitive from the law.
posted by wfrgms at 7:50 PM on July 24

Firstly, chill.

If you are OMGWTFBBQ'ing over this you could go see a bail bondsman right now. They're usually open 24/7/365.
posted by GPF at 7:51 PM on July 24

In Philly the judicial system's Warrant Unit which goes out to pick up fugitives is generally concerned only with parole and probation violators. They don't even send out the Warrant Unit for our drug court clients who fail to appear for status listings, they just wait until they get brought in off the streets on a new charge or on the bench warrant itself.
posted by The Straightener at 8:02 PM on July 24

Nope, they will wait until it is way way way more inconvenient to get you, like when you are out driving in front of your church or in front of all of your coworkers. Call a lawyer, have them handle it for you. It'll cost $300. If you don't know one, call your state bar association and have them refer you.
posted by bensherman at 8:11 PM on July 24

When the police came for me (for a traffic fine I could prove I'd paid--I got caught by a change in state law that increased the fees) it was on a Friday during business hours. The nice cop who came to our house took us to a nice judge who helped us solve our problem based on the extenuating circumstances, but you can't count on that being the case.

Contact a lawyer. If you don't have one, contact the state bar, or look online to see if there's a local lawyers' group that offers low-cost help and use them to get a referral. Also, if you have records from your illness, like copies of doctor's notes that kept you out of work or hospital bills, have those handy when you talk to the lawyer.
posted by immlass at 8:39 PM on July 24

My housemate recently was stopped by the police and the cop found that there was a warrant for his arrest from an unpaid ticket from many years ago, which he had forgotten about. He was not arrested; the officer told him to go in on Monday and pay the fine, or officers would come to the house. It seemed like no big deal. There weren't even additional fines; he just had to pay the original $75.

So, based on one anecdote and what I think I otherwise know, I would say, relax for now. I personally would not spend the money to hire a lawyer about this; I'd just go in on Monday morning and offer to pay the fine.
posted by not that girl at 8:47 PM on July 24

Depends on the locality you are in. I have heard of local small community police being dispatched to arrest people for all sorts of fines. Bigger cities, very doubtful.
posted by gjc at 8:56 PM on July 24

The range of responses above is pretty much the way it is. I wouldn't be seriously stressed about it, but you're probably right to avoid driving or hanging out in bars or drug houses this weekend. Generally, this kind of warrant is issued because it gives the police leverage to do 'escalate' things with the sort of people that talk to police regularly because they're irresponsible and have no control over their lives and put themselves in bad situations.

On Monday, the first thing you should do is call the court. You need to ask what the procedure is since you forgot to pay the fine, and exactly what will happen to you if you come in to pay it. Generally, bells don't ring and alarms don't go off when you walk in the door ... however, that may be different in your jurisdiction. One of two things will happen. Either you will pay the fine and the warrant will be withdrawn, or you will need to see a judge and may face either additional charges or additional fines. Definitely bring any documentation (bills, receipts, etc.) you have of your illness, but if you just need to see the clerk and pay the fine, then they won't want to see it. If you talk to the judge and he's deciding whether or not to charge you with something else, that's when you bring that 'evidence' up as extenuating circumstances.

If you really are nervous and have the cash to spare, find a lawyer who's open or on call on weekends who has experience with the local criminal courts. He'll be able to tell you the way things are in your jurisdiction and with the judge or court you're dealing with. Otherwise, just handle it on Monday.
posted by SpecialK at 9:25 PM on July 24

My mom works as a secretary for a debt collection attorney who issues bench warrants when people don't pay their bills. That said, nothing I say (or that she would say) is legal advice. I really doubt they're going to come looking for you (I asked this of her one time and she said it's rare), but yeah, don't drive. You don't want to be pulled over.
posted by IndigoRain at 1:01 AM on July 25

In Mass -- go to court on Monday, first thing (8:30 A.M.). Ask for the lawyer of the day. He/she will help you out or point you in the right direction. Be ready to pay the fine. (There may be court costs as well). The warrant will be withdrawn.
posted by inkyr2 at 1:11 AM on July 25

Do what SpecialK said. It's no big deal, happens all the time. They are not out looking for you.

One thing, though, if and when you go to court to pay, bring cash or check. No credit cards.
posted by Xoebe at 1:13 AM on July 25

I have a friend who has a story sort of like this except that a) the fine was a bit smaller, b) he TOTALLY forgot about it, c) until he was arrested on Christmas Eve. The punchline comes when the bailiff tells him his options are to plead guilty and pay the fine then and there, or spend Christmas in jail, plead not guilty next Monday, etc. and he stands there for a minute thinking that it can't possibly be as easy as what the bailiff just said and the bailiff looks at him like he's an idiot because there is really an obvious choice there.

Bottom line, if a cop is running your ID and there is a bench warrant out for you, you'll get a ride in the back of a patrol car and so forth and what can ultimately be a pretty funny story. (When someone asks what you are in for, "failure to appear" sounds better than "illegal left turn" and your internal deliberation on that point will make your ultimate story that much funnier when you tell it.) It won't seem that damn funny at the time.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 2:00 AM on July 25

The same thing happened to me over an expired inspection sticker (hey, after you get the car inspected, you should follow up with the courts to make sure everything's taken care of!). I thought everything was copacetic, but The Law thought otherwise.

I received the notice in the mail, freaked the fuck out, and took care of it the following business day (which was much more expensive than taking care of it before the warrant was issued).

I'm in Texas, where they execute people for stuff like this. You'll be fine, just don't run into any cops before you take care of it.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:53 AM on July 25