The Statue Of Limitations...

Squeaks

Squeaks

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 29, 1999
Messages
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Here is my story......

A little over ten years ago I got pulled over in the State of New Jersey for falling asleep behind the wheel.... I was given three tickets one for failure to wear a seat belt, another for improper lane changing, and another for reckless driving.

I live in the state of Pennsylvania so I never paid the tickets.... a month or so went by and they sent me a letter informing me that the fines had just doubled since I didnt pay them..... again... I didn't pay them and next I was sent a letter saying I now had to go to court for them....... I never showed up for court.....

A little while longer I received in the mail a letter informing me since I missed my court dates 3 bench warrants were drawn up for my arrest for each ticket....

In order to straighten it out I would have to be arrested.... paid to get myself out of jail/then pay court costs and fees, then pay for the fines which were doubled....

since all this happened in Jersey I knew if I got pulled over in Pa I would be fine.... I basically just never went back to Jersey at all or when I did made sure I wasnt driving my car....

Well my question(finally) is someone told me that since ten years have passed that these bench warrants have basically gone away since there is a statue of limitations and all...

Is there anyone out there that can give me a definitive answer to this not just an educated guess?

I know the statue of limitations for most things is 10 years and there is none for murder.... but for most petty crimes(like moving violations)there is a statue of limitation.

If this person is right how does one compute it then? When I got pulled over and cited? When I was supposed to go to court? when the warrants went out for my arrest?

Anyone else have similar situations.......

Oh and for anyone to read this and not approve of me falling asleep... I underatnd it was a stupid thing to do I was young, dumb, and coming down of of ecstacy after working a double shift, then pulling an all night club fest(club closes at noon), then actually on my way back home to work another double shift(which I didnt make).

I in no way feel I was wronged in the way things happened(cept for the fact the cop forced me to pull over on the wrong side of the road which then he had to tow my car because it wasnt on the emergency pull off side....)

I am just curious since its been 11 years if I am actually okay to drive now in Jersey....
 
I'm going to move this to Legal, Squeaks, as it requires a bit more than an opinion... IMO.

--->

Oops, meant to edit the title too (Statute).
 
As far as I know, once a warrant has been issued, it is good until served.
 
According to counsel.com:

In most states warrants last forever.
http://counsel.net/chatboards/crimlaw/topic2130/3.03.06.14.21.57.html
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My take on Statute Laws are that they cover everything leading up to the warrant.

For example: John sells an undercover officer some pot. The police open a case a John. Nothing happens or John moves and the case goes cold. Ten years go by and John is arrested for stealing a car. Statute laws protect him from being charged for selling the pot ten years ago.

You may want to look into specific state Statute laws.
 
There are no statue of limitations on warrants, but minor warrants do tend to drop out of the system after many years.

If I were you I'd stay the hell out of New Jersey.
 
Squeaks said:
Well my question(finally) is someone told me that since ten years have passed that these bench warrants have basically gone away since there is a statue of limitations and all...
Click to expand...
No. As mentioned, a warrant is valid until served.

You also might want to consider some of the other consequences of having these types of driving issues outstanding -- like insurance rates and credit reporting (for outstanding judgments). Most states are part of the Driver's License Compact which requires traffic infractions to be reported to the driver's home state. How the state will handle the reported information varies from state to state.

Contact an NJ traffic/DUI attorney if you want to sort this situation out.
 
Banquo said:
No. As mentioned, a warrant is valid until served.

You also might want to consider some of the other consequences of having these types of driving issues outstanding -- like insurance rates and credit reporting (for outstanding judgments). Most states are part of the Driver's License Compact which requires traffic infractions to be reported to the driver's home state. How the state will handle the reported information varies from state to state.

Contact an NJ traffic/DUI attorney if you want to sort this situation out.
Click to expand...

Thanx for the heads up on this although this is not a major factor in my life since my credit is so bad at this point(had 11 credit cards which I stopped paying on in college and many other various debts) that my credit score is really bad...

My insurance isnt so bad since I am almost 30 now and have been with them since I was 16 plus where I live and all the rates are low....

I figured as much on the warrants but when you hear more than one person tell you that you are okay it makes ya wonder........

I hardly have any reason to go to Jersey anymore nowadays... There is a casino a block away form my job which was mainly the reason for hitting up NJ(Atlantic City)......

I also hate the Jersey Shore and prefer the Maryland/Deleware Beaches more....

My Aunt lives In Jersey though so during the holidays is where it gets complicated.....

Thanx for all the replies though...
 
check and see if the police department has an amnesty day. i know in cleveland you can pay unpaid tickets without absurd fines and such every once in awhile.
 
animal_cookie said:
check and see if the police department has an amnesty day. i know in cleveland you can pay unpaid tickets without absurd fines and such every once in awhile.
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I will have to look into that I don't mind paying the fines(even if they are doubled) I just didn't want to go through the headache of having to get a lawyer...have them arrest me.. then take care of the fines....
 
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