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A little background:
In Texas, if you get a traffic ticket and fail to show up to court, a warrant will issue for your arrest. Now, these warrants are not too often assertively pursued as there are far more serious crimes for which our police forces are needed, so defendants often think they "got away with" their case. The municipalities, however, now post all such warrants on a state system that catches these people when they go to renew their driver’s license, register their vehicle, get pulled over again, etc. Eventually, just about every person will get caught.
While in our traffic court a while ago, we had a case in which a woman got a ticket, failed to show up for court, moved to another state for about twelve years, then moved back to Texas. When she went to get her driver’s license, the warrant came up and she was arrested on the spot. The woman demanded a jury trial when she was arraigned, then she was released with her trial date.
A little more background:
Any prosecutor and most defense attorneys know that the officer MUST remember the incident and be able to identify the driver when called to testify at trial. If the officer cannot do that (and with as many tickets as are written, it is not uncommon for this to happen) the ticket must be dismissed.
On the day of the trial, we were surprised to see a ticket that old on the docket, but the officer had been subpoenaed. The prosecutor handed the case file to the officer, and the officer guffawed at the age of the case. Then the officer started reading the ticket and with an astonished face, stated that he did, in fact, remember this ticket! The prosecutor then asked the officer privately if the officer could see the woman anywhere in the court room among the other defendants. The officer looked around, then said that he could not pick her out. The prosecutor said that was OK, and that he would dismiss the ticket. The officer then walked out of the courtroom.
Before the prosecutor could fill out the short form for dismissal, however, the officer came back in quickly and said the woman was sitting outside the courtroom in the hallway, and that he was certain it was her! He stated that she had changed her hair color from blond to brown and had cut/styled it into curls, but he recognized her. The prosecutor had a huge grin as he threw away the dismissal form.
When the defense attorney smugly came up to the prosecutor asking why the ticket was not dismissed already, the prosecutor told him the case was ready for trial, and since this was the oldest ticket, it was going to be the first to select a jury. The defense attorney looked surprised and asked with a knowing smile if the officer really had found his client in the courtroom. The prosecutor smiled back and informed the defense attorney that his client was supposed to have been in the courtroom when the docket was called, but he was not going to inform the judge of that as the officer had seen the woman sitting in the hallway and was ready to testify. The defense attorney still was not convinced until the prosecutor informed him of what the officer said regarding the woman’s hair.
I never have seen a man change from smug to crestfallen so quickly, but the defense attorney went out, talked to his client, came back in and accepted the plea bargain the prosecutor offered.
Justice delayed, but served!
In Texas, if you get a traffic ticket and fail to show up to court, a warrant will issue for your arrest. Now, these warrants are not too often assertively pursued as there are far more serious crimes for which our police forces are needed, so defendants often think they "got away with" their case. The municipalities, however, now post all such warrants on a state system that catches these people when they go to renew their driver’s license, register their vehicle, get pulled over again, etc. Eventually, just about every person will get caught.
While in our traffic court a while ago, we had a case in which a woman got a ticket, failed to show up for court, moved to another state for about twelve years, then moved back to Texas. When she went to get her driver’s license, the warrant came up and she was arrested on the spot. The woman demanded a jury trial when she was arraigned, then she was released with her trial date.
A little more background:
Any prosecutor and most defense attorneys know that the officer MUST remember the incident and be able to identify the driver when called to testify at trial. If the officer cannot do that (and with as many tickets as are written, it is not uncommon for this to happen) the ticket must be dismissed.
On the day of the trial, we were surprised to see a ticket that old on the docket, but the officer had been subpoenaed. The prosecutor handed the case file to the officer, and the officer guffawed at the age of the case. Then the officer started reading the ticket and with an astonished face, stated that he did, in fact, remember this ticket! The prosecutor then asked the officer privately if the officer could see the woman anywhere in the court room among the other defendants. The officer looked around, then said that he could not pick her out. The prosecutor said that was OK, and that he would dismiss the ticket. The officer then walked out of the courtroom.
Before the prosecutor could fill out the short form for dismissal, however, the officer came back in quickly and said the woman was sitting outside the courtroom in the hallway, and that he was certain it was her! He stated that she had changed her hair color from blond to brown and had cut/styled it into curls, but he recognized her. The prosecutor had a huge grin as he threw away the dismissal form.
When the defense attorney smugly came up to the prosecutor asking why the ticket was not dismissed already, the prosecutor told him the case was ready for trial, and since this was the oldest ticket, it was going to be the first to select a jury. The defense attorney looked surprised and asked with a knowing smile if the officer really had found his client in the courtroom. The prosecutor smiled back and informed the defense attorney that his client was supposed to have been in the courtroom when the docket was called, but he was not going to inform the judge of that as the officer had seen the woman sitting in the hallway and was ready to testify. The defense attorney still was not convinced until the prosecutor informed him of what the officer said regarding the woman’s hair.
I never have seen a man change from smug to crestfallen so quickly, but the defense attorney went out, talked to his client, came back in and accepted the plea bargain the prosecutor offered.
Justice delayed, but served!
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