All traffic citations in the State of Texas have an appearance date. What is an appearance date? The date by which you need to either make a personal appearance in Court, enter a plea of not guilty, no contest, or guilty, pay the fine, or hire an attorney to make an appearance on your behalf.
If you fail to appear in court on or before the appearance date, the Judge may issue a warrant for your arrest. At this time, the fine amount will increase due to the addition of collection and warrant fees. If an arrest warrant is issued, you will be subject to arrest at home, place of business, or wherever you may be found. Furthermore, a complaint for Failure to Appear or Violate Promise to Appear may be filed with the Court along with a notice being sent to Texas DPS for the denial of driver license renewal. Learn more about traffic ticket warrants below, and talk to Anderson & Anderson, LLP if you have questions about a citation or warrant.
Even small violations can lead to a warrant for arrest if you do not timely handle the ticket. Some of the common traffic violations that result in warrants are:
If you have a traffic ticket warrant, you can be arrested anywhere in the State of Texas. Law enforcement may even come to your home and place of employment. You can be taken into custody in front of your family, friends, and co-workers.
If you ignore your traffic ticket, you may be charged with an additional warrant of Failure to Appear or Violate Promise to Appear. Most people are not aware they have been charged with the aforementioned additional offenses because the court system usually files Failure to Appear and / or Violate Promise to Appear “at large.”
Furthermore, the Court can place an OMNI hold on your driver’s license, i.e., denial of driver’s license renewal. You now face two issues: 1) having the warrant lifted and 2) paying the OMNI hold directly to the Court.
Every March, many counties throughout the State participate in the Texas Warrant Roundup. This is a coordinated law enforcement effort to make arrests for outstanding traffic warrants. If you have an outstanding traffic matter, it is important to act prior to being on the receiving end of a potentially embarrassing arrest.
Oftentimes, ANDERSON & ANDERSON, LLP can save you money and help prevent convictions which will adversely affect your driving record and automobile insurance rates.
If you receive a traffic citation and take no action on the ticket (in other words ignore the ticket or neglect to appear in Court), the Judge may issue an alias warrant for your arrest. Also, if you timely request a court setting on your case and do not appear in Court at the scheduled time, the Judge may issue a warrant for your arrest. The good news is that our law firm can timely and quickly post an attorney bond to clear the alias warrant.
Sometimes referred to as a bench warrant, Capias comes from the Latin “to seize.” It is issued by a judge and allows the police to arrest you to ensure that you comply with an order to show up to Court. An attorney is unable to post an attorney bond on this type of warrant if judgment has been entered on your case, i.e., you entered a plea and failed to comply with court orders.
Having a traffic warrant in Texas is a serious matter. Trying to handle a warrant by yourself can be expensive (not getting available fine reductions) and can result in license suspension (not realizing the legal ramifications your actions may have).
It is important to get in touch with our competent legal team to provide you with sound legal advice. A traffic ticket defense is important to avoid convictions. Oftentimes, we can post an Attorney Bond on your case to recall the warrant. After a bond has been posted and accepted by the Court, your concerns of being arrested are alleviated. Our office will then set the matter for Court and appear in Court on your behalf to represent you. Our goal is two-fold: 1) to help you keep your driving record clear of the offense and 2) to help you save money. It is important to have an experienced lawyer on your side. The attorneys at ANDERSON & ANDERSON, LLP know the court system and the law and can obtain the best possible results.
ANDERSON & ANDERSON, LLP is an experienced Dallas / DFW traffic ticket defense law firm specializing in traffic ticket warrants. We have provided solid legal counsel and smart strategies for our clients for over 20 years. We address cases in both the Justice of the Peace Courts and Municipal Courts in Collin County, Dallas County, Denton County, Ellis County, Johnson County, Kaufman County, and Tarrant County. Our legal team will present a vigorous defense and work for the best possible outcome. Please contact us at 214-370-8260 for a complimentary consultation.
If you have a traffic ticket, you may be tempted to simply pay it. Please note that in the State of Texas, simply paying a ticket is an admission of guilt. The Court will report the offense to DPS as a conviction on your driving record. This may result in increased automobile insurance premiums or possible license suspension depending on the circumstances. Below are some of the common questions about Texas traffic ticket violations.
Yes. The Court must give the Department of Public Safety all conviction records which involve operating a motor vehicle in the State. So, most traffic violations will appear on your record, and points will be assessed.
All traffic citations have an Appearance Date. All Courts have different time frames in which to timely respond to an alleged offense. If you miss the appearance date, a warrant may be issued for your arrest. In addition, you may also receive a subsequent offense – a Failure to Appear or a Violate Promise to Appear. Contact our law firm. ANDERSON & ANDERSON, LLP can help.
No. It would seem that simply paying the fine is the right thing to do; however, in the State of Texas this will result in a conviction. Contact ANDERSON & ANDERSON, LLP for advice on how to proceed.
In the interest of keeping track of driver behavior, the DPS Driver Responsibility Program assesses points for each moving violation – two points for any in-state and our-of-state conviction and three points for a conviction resulting in a crash. The points remain on your driving record for three years from the date of the conviction. When a certain number of points are accumulated, the driver will face a driver license suspension.
Not all traffic violations lead to points. If you receive a ticket for travelling 10 mph or less over the posted speed limit or a seat belt violation, you will not incur any points.
