My CHL will be denied!

[dws1117]

Twelve years ago, when I was young, stupid, and drinking too much I was arrested for public intoxication. Against my wishes (felt that it was my fault and I should have to sit it out in jail) my mother bailed me out and paid all associated fines. Today I received a letter in the mail that states that there is a warrent for my arrest.

I called the attorneys that sent the letter and was told that I had to contact the court. Called the court. I was told that they can't pull the file until Monday because court is in session. They were able to tell me that there is indeed a warrant that has been issued for the charges of June 12, 1993.

My mother doesn't keep much in the way of records. Especially not for this long. She told me the same thing that I remember. We were told that all was paid.

I have been through numerous background checks in the last 5 years. I applied to Harris County for a reserve deputy position. I made it to last phase of the hiring process before I pulled my application for personal reasons. Been through background checks for job applications with Montgomery County Sheriff's Dept. and DPS. This has never come up.

I am a little pi**ed!

Now I know why my CHL app is taking so long and I am certain that this will be cause for a denial!! Guess I should have waited to buy a gun and holster.

Does anyone have any advice for how I can clear this since I don't have any record of payment? I do have th option of paying $175 and it will be cleared.

Shouldn't there be a statute of limitations? I know, wishful thinking.

Thanks for letting me rant.

[Baytown]

I hate to say it, but I think I would just pay it and get the dang thing out of the way. If nothing else you could call the court and set up a payment plan.

My gosh, I can't believe they did not inactivate the warrant after 12 years!!

Glenn

[dws1117]

As much as I hate it, I will probably end up bending over and paying it.

Anyone know how long I'll have to wait until I can apply for my CHL again and pass?

[one eyed fatman]

Get out your CHL manual and read section GC 411.180.

[Charles L. Cotton]

dws1117: I sent you a PM with my phone number. Call me.

Chas.

[Chris]

she probably paid for a PR bond. violating the PR bond means you lose your money and the warrant comes out.

there is not a statute of limitations on warrants. DPS clears out the warrant database when warrants are like 5 years old, but most agencies just re-enter them. there is no limitation on how long the warrant can go.

i'd just pay it and move on. once you do that, it'll be instantly removed.

[dws1117]

What do you mean by "PR Bond"?

[Chris]

What do you mean by "PR Bond"?

personal recognizance. sometimes they don't even require any money up front, they just release you kind of like signing a promise to appear. our judge does that with all PIs, but we have weekend judges who will keep your butt in jail until you pay the fine or post a bond amount equal to the fine. a PI is required to stay in jail for at least 4 hours. you can sometimes go through a bondsman and pay their fee and they'll get you a PR bond.

i'm thinking your mom probably paid a bond and thought it was for the fine. in that case, you would have had to enter a plea of not guilty so you could appear in court later. had you plead guilty or no contest, it would have been the fine you were paying and the case would be done with.

you need to find out what kind of warrant it is; whether it's the charge warrant or a capias warrant. a charge warrant means you did not plead guilty. a capias warrant means you made arrangements to take care of it and failed to do so. capias warrants either get the whole fine amount or you in jail. charge warrants you still have some options.

if it's a charge warrant, or just the general warrant depending on the term the court uses (as long as it isn't capias), then you can find out who arrested you for it. then determine if that officer still works there. if he or she doesn't, tell the court you want to contest it by jury trial. they'll drop it for lack of witness and certainly won't pursue a jury trial on a 12 year old case even if the officer does work there.

[dws1117]

Based on your explanation, what my mother paid wasn't a PR bond. I entered a plea of no contest. I was in jail for more than 4 hours, although I can't recall the exact duration. It was something that I have tried to learn from and forget about.

We were told that all fines were paid and nothing was ever said of going to court or setting a court date. We certainly didn't go through a bondsman. No offense meant to any bondsmen out there.

Thank you for the explanation.

[dws1117]

The court finally pulled the file only to find that everything had been paid. It would seem that it was never updated in the computer system.

The warrant has been canceled and they are sending me written documentation.

[MoJo]

I know you are glad to learn that. Makes one wonder about what may be "lost" in other computers.

[HighVelocity]

I carry receipts from traffic tickets in my wallet. You just never know.

[Chris]

The court finally pulled the file only to find that everything had been paid. It would seem that it was never updated in the computer system.

The warrant has been canceled and they are sending me written documentation.

sometimes it happens. what would happen if you got stopped for a traffic violation is they issuing agency would fail to confirm the warrant when they noticed their error.

sometimes people make mistakes. it just sucks that those mistakes can land you in jail.