ANST - Louisiana Speeding Ticket

[Quest]

I would like to add two things to Christian's comments.  In most
states, your old drivers license will be run through the system before
a new license is issued.  If you have unpaid tickets or you are behind
in court-ordered payments such as child support, the state will not
issue a new license until you clear the debt.  I know Texas and
Colorado do this.  (They also both show your previous DL# on your new
license.)

Second, on top of bench warrants and such, your friend will likely
also pay collection charges and late fees.  I don't know about
Louisiana, but I know several cities in Texas hand their uncollectable
tickets over to collection agencies (usually "law firms" who tack on
$200-$500 in "legal fees").

In an example very close to home, a fellow received a $40 ticket,
forgot about it, and a year later, ended up in jail for the night.  It
cost him over $600 to get out of jail, including all the various
fees... and $350 of that were "legal fees" tacked on by the collection
agency.  Yes, he had to pay it *all* to get out of jail.

Remember, too, that your social security number is associated with
your drivers license file, and the social security number is one of
the fastest, easiest ways to do a skip trace.  No matter where your
friend moves, if he expects to continue working, his social security
number will make him easy to find.

All things considered, your friend is well-advised to just pay the
ticket and have it done.  As Morgan pointed out, there is really no
getting around it in the long run.  the question becomes, "How *much*
does he want to pay for this ticket?"

~ Aine Inghean ui Egerton

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Christian Doré <jtc at io.com>
To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG <ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG>
Date: Tuesday, March 09, 1999 9:13 AM
Subject: Re: ANST - Louisiana Speeding Ticket


> > His theory is that
> >since he is moving anyway they cannot track him down as the address
on his
> >license -- and in fact the license itself -- are becoming obsolete.
>

I am not sure I think this is a good place for this, but...

The way the system works -- even in LA -- is that when a ticket is
issued a court date is automatically set. If you don't pay or show up
for the court date, a warrant is issued and sits in the files for some
time. During that time if you are stopped by any LA officer, you will
be handcuffed and hauled to the pokey where you will sit till you
pay your ticket (but probably overnight in any case). From that
point on, various other charges can apply as well, but seldom do
with a speeding ticket.

Eventually this information gets fed into a national database.
Various identifying information, like your prints and ssn, are used to
link this information to little ol' you. If this comes up during an
inquiry in another state (like Texas) where you are a resident, you
can be arrested on a variety of charges including "interstate flight
to avoid prosecution", a felony I believe. Not that you will be
arrested, but you could. It could happen next time you try to renew
your license. Or after a traffic stop. Or a week after either of those
when the nice man in the blue outfit shows up where you work.

I am sure some prosecutor, lawyer or police officer could provide
more details and correct any errors I have made, but that is how I
understand it. No way in hell would I want that hanging over *my*
head. Your friend may be more adventurous, or like spending the
night in a cell full of drunks.

Christian Doré -- My legal advice is free, and worth every penny!

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