How does this work: Warrants for unpaid tickets

snowpea

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I live in Texas, BTW so you have a frame of reference.

My character gets pulled over for unpaid speeding tickets and gets taken to jail. She must call her mother to bail her out. How long does she have to stay in jail? Does she get out as long as someone pays the fine and the tickets? What is the process here?
 

C.bronco

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I got a call at work once that I had an unpaid parking ticket for parking on the wrong side of the street by my house. The police had arrived at my home with a warrant. The next day, I went to the police station, paid forty bucks, and was golden afterwards.

I was 23, and naive about parking tickets at the time. That was in NJ, though, not Texas. I don't know if TX is more severe.
 

jclarkdawe

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Depends upon jurisdiction and amount of unpaid tickets when they haul you off to jail for the tickets after a traffic stop. Small amounts they might give you a notice to appear.

Bail will be set in the amount of the unpaid tickets, plus bail costs. Bail will need to be paid in cash. If she is unable to raise the cash (no credit cards, no checks usually), she will see a judge the next business day. A judge can reduce the bail amount, but only for an argument of real poverty.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe
 

snowpea

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Depends upon jurisdiction and amount of unpaid tickets when they haul you off to jail for the tickets after a traffic stop. Small amounts they might give you a notice to appear.

Bail will be set in the amount of the unpaid tickets, plus bail costs. Bail will need to be paid in cash. If she is unable to raise the cash (no credit cards, no checks usually), she will see a judge the next business day. A judge can reduce the bail amount, but only for an argument of real poverty.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Thanks. This helps a lot.
 

mrsmig

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You might. In many jurisdictions, failure to pay tickets on time can result in your license being suspended. Driving on a suspended license can get you yet another ticket and/or criminal charges being filed against you. And yes, that can get you arrested, with mugshots taken.
 

ironmikezero

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If you are incarcerated for any reason, you will be processed (go through an intake procedure). It'll depend upon the specific jurisdiction, but it typically includes photos (mugshots), fingerprinting, and in some cases DNA sampling and medical screening.
 

WeaselFire

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My character gets pulled over for unpaid speeding tickets and gets taken to jail.
You don't get pulled over for unpaid tickets, you get pulled over for something else and a computer check reveals the tickets. In most areas (can't positively say for Texas) parking tickets are a code violation, not a criminal violation and you wouldn't get sent to jail ever. It can reach a criminal level after some proceedings, but certainly not a single ticket.

What do you need for your story? If you need jail and bail, we could select something else.

Jeff
 

snowpea

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You don't get pulled over for unpaid tickets, you get pulled over for something else and a computer check reveals the tickets. In most areas (can't positively say for Texas) parking tickets are a code violation, not a criminal violation and you wouldn't get sent to jail ever. It can reach a criminal level after some proceedings, but certainly not a single ticket.

What do you need for your story? If you need jail and bail, we could select something else.

Jeff

She gets pulled over for speeding and this reveals unpaid tickets.

But yes, I need jail and bail. Speeding and unpaid speeding tickets is the least amount of crime I could think of where she doesn't have to go to jail for an extended amount of time or to a rehab program.

Also does anyone know what the inside of a jail cell looks like? Not prison, just jail.
 
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jclarkdawe

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What you want for the previous offense is a "must appear" ticket. Typically this could be reckless operation or speeding 25+ over the limit. When you don't appear on a "must appear" ticket, a bench warrant is issued. Bail will be in the range of about $300 to $1,000 dollars and will be cash.

Watch the reality show JAIL. Fairly accurate. It really depends upon the size of the police department what a cell looks like. However, nearly all are cinder block or concrete, with a minimal window. Toilet is partially screened. Cot is steel. Mattress is very thin. Noises are very loud. Door is solid with a narrow window and a slot to extend your hands through for cuffing. Front can be glass or concrete, depending upon design.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe
 

RJ_Beam

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Every state is different... here in WI a warrant for unpaid citations can be issued. If a person is found with a warrant the officer will arrest and take to the local or county jail. The suspect can then pay the outstanding fines and be on their way. Otherwise they have to wait till the next day to see the judge (or the weekend till Monday). The judge will then make a ruling if the person can go free with a payment plan in place, or they sit in jail a bit longer.
 

snowpea

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You've had good advice. If you're in Austin, I can get you a tour of a jail cell. Don't worry, it really would be a tour and not a stay. :)

lol Thanks but I live in Houston. I found out that for public drunkeness in Houston people get taken to a sober center and spend the night there. So my character would only have to spend the night there and pay a fine, but no criminal charges would be pressed against her.

But all this advice was great!