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Cactusdan
Patecatl



Registered: 10/11/07
Posts: 7,024
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 3 years, 5 months
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To pay or not to pay...
#11620731 - 12/09/09 10:54 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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That is the question.
SO, I got in a car accident up in GA almost a month ago.
The cops came and wrote me a ticket.
I called the number on the ticket to determine the price of my ticket, they said it wasn't in the computer.
I went online to the city website to pay my ticket there, still said it's not in the system.
I'm currently back in Florida, it's a month later and still not in the system.
I'd rather not pay the ticket if I don't have to, but I'm afraid that if I dont pay and don't show up to court they may issue a warrant for my arrest when I go back to Georgia.
Anyone had this problem before, any suggestions on wheter to pay or not to pay?
Thanks,
-Dan
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suburbanned
Stranger

Registered: 02/20/08
Posts: 2,810
Last seen: 13 years, 9 months
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Re: To pay or not to pay... [Re: Cactusdan]
#11620781 - 12/09/09 11:04 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Call and record them saying there is nothing in the system over a month after. Instantly out of trouble if any issues ever arise.
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Cactusdan
Patecatl



Registered: 10/11/07
Posts: 7,024
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 3 years, 5 months
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Re: To pay or not to pay... [Re: suburbanned]
#11620874 - 12/09/09 11:24 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Didnt even think of that.
I will also be sure to do a screen cap of the website telling me the same thing.
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naum



Registered: 10/09/07
Posts: 4,069
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Re: To pay or not to pay... [Re: Cactusdan]
#11620981 - 12/09/09 11:47 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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I've never had this happen to me with an out of state case. But in my state, some rural counties take forever to enter citations into the system.
One time, the citation was not entered into the system before my court date so I could not pay it by mail since the offense was not listed on the citation like most common offenses. I called the court and asked for an extension; they told me no dice. Not wanting to have a warrant placed out for my arrest, I ended up leaving work and driving 6+ hours to pay an already very expensive ticket. I have no idea what the consequences would have been had I not paid. Another time, I had a citation post the day before, but the citation stated that the plea/payment only be postmarked by the court date.
In any case, I don't think it worth the risk to not pay. If you still have some time before your court date, I would try to call the court and tell them the circumstances. Tell them that your court date is coming up and you're out of state so you need to know. That's what the ATL municipal court website recommends as well.
Failing that or perhaps in addition to that, I would contact a lawyer to see if he could represent you at the court date. I had a relative who was issued a bogus ticket while in another date who did exactly that and in addition to not having to travel 1000+ miles got the citation dropped.
P.S. Did you search by your citation number, name/dob, and by you d.l. (not sure if their website works with out of state)? I've also had a ticket mis-entered before which only came up when I searched by name/dob.
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Cactusdan
Patecatl



Registered: 10/11/07
Posts: 7,024
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 3 years, 5 months
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Re: To pay or not to pay... [Re: naum]
#11621070 - 12/10/09 12:12 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Mine is searchable by citation number and last name.
The court date is today actually, better call it in when they open.
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Stonehenge
Alt Center

Registered: 06/20/04
Posts: 14,850
Loc: S.E.
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Re: To pay or not to pay... [Re: Cactusdan]
#11625159 - 12/10/09 05:51 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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I hope it worked out for you. If worse comes to worse just explain that you were out of town and couldn't pay the ticket because it wasn't in the system. I'm sure the judges are aware of this. No guarantee it will get you off but it's worth a shot. I seriously doubt they will extradite for a traffic ticket. However, it could show up on your record in other ways and cause problems. If you weren't able to work it out already, try writing them on paper and hopefully you will get something back on paper to document your position.
-------------------- “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.” (attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville political philosopher Circa 1835) Trade list http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/18047755
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