How Do I Avoid Being Arrested If I Have Outstanding Traffic Tickets?

The short answer is that you need to hire an experienced lawyer in order to take care of your situation so that it does not get any worse. Because one potential outcome (particularly if the ticket has not been paid) is that a warrant will be issued for your arrest. But this is not the course of events that have to take place.

When you are pulled over for having violated a traffic law, the police officer will almost certainly cite you with a ticket. The ticket will indicate the precise infraction for which you have been pulled over, the court date and time, and the amount of the fine. One option is to simply sign the ticket and pay the fine, but of course doing so will result in ‘points’ being applied to your driving record (these are negative marks indicating bad driving). This in turn will cause your automobile insurance to rise (because your carrier will deem you more of a risk). But your attorney can get the ticket reduced to a non-moving violation. Such violations do not negatively affect your insurance, because these kinds of infractions do not go on your permanent driving record.

But if in fact you received a speeding ticket in Missouri, and for whatever reason you did not take care of it (by either calling a lawyer or paying the associated fine), and your court date comes and goes without you making an appearance, the judge will undoubtedly issue a bench warrant for your arrest. This means that if you are subsequently pulled over while driving (or if you for some reason are questioned by the police), the officer will see that the warrants are active and will be duty bound to arrest you. This will land you in jail, and you almost certainly will not be released unless or until the underlying tickets are paid for.

So if it has reached the point at which you have an outstanding warrant, it is essential that you seek the aid of a lawyer. The attorney can get the warrant ‘lifted,’ which involves going to the judge and requesting that his or her ruling be taken away. Once this is successfully accomplished, your attorney can then negotiate a plea with the prosecuting attorney to get the underlying ticket amended to a something lower (like a non-moving violation).

The affordable St. Louis traffic ticket defense lawyers at The Bankruptcy Company want to make sure that you are able to drive without the worry of being arrested. Our goal is to keep your record as clean as possible, so that your insurance premiums are kept at a reasonable amount. And we also work to make sure that you do not have to go to court at all and deal with the prosecutor. The initial consultation is free of charge, and most of the information we need can be taken over the phone. So call today!