January 04, 2016 - If you have lived in the state of Texas for any length of time, you are probably aware of the annual Great Texas Warrant Roundup. The Roundup is coming up on its tenth year, for the 2016 Roundup. Over the past decade, Texas officials have given all those with an outstanding warrant hanging over their head the opportunity to clear their record and start fresh. The first phase of the Roundup, generally begins during the last two weeks of February. This phase is known as the “grace,” or “amnesty” period. All those with outstanding warrants can go to the courthouse, paying all their fines and fees, and walk out with a clear conscience.
While some Houston courts will send out notifications, many will not, or, if you have moved in the interim, your notification might not find you. If you don’t receive a notification, don’t assume it is because you don’t have a warrant. Most of the smaller jurisdictions simply don’t have the financial resources to send out notifications. Many people with a warrant are aware of the fact, while others may not be. Perhaps you received a traffic citation in the past and promptly forgot to either pay the ticket or appear in court. If so, many months could have gone by, and your name could be residing on the warrant list.
During any given month, the city of Houston can have as many as 300,000 outstanding warrants on the books, therefore the Roundup is a time when those with warrants are strongly encouraged to take care of them. Of course Houston—as well as all other jurisdictions—has a strong financial reason to “encourage” residents to take care of their tickets and warrants. Houston typically brings in between $1 and $2.5 million during the Roundup, making, on average, 4,000 arrests. While those with an outstanding warrant can theoretically be arrested anytime and anywhere, the chances of such an arrest go up dramatically during the enforcement phase of the Roundup—typically the first two weeks of March.
Ignoring Your Warrant is Not the Answer
Ignoring your warrant could result in your being arrested at the most inopportune time—although there is never a good time to be arrested. You could be at work, finding yourself being escorted out by police officers in front of your boss and co-workers. Or, you could be at home having dinner with your family. New technology which allows Houston police officers to quickly scan license plates, matching the registered owner of the vehicle with outstanding warrants, makes finding those with outstanding warrants much simpler. If you want to avoid a humiliating arrest and get your tickets taken care of, talking to an experienced Sullo & Sullo Houston traffic ticket attorney could be your best course of action. If you decide to simply go down and pay your tickets, consider the following:
Contacting a Sullo & Sullo Attorney vs. Paying Your Outstanding Tickets
In order to avoid such an embarrassing situation, it could be advantageous to speak with a Sullo & Sullo Houston traffic ticket lawyer. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the situation, and before you simply pay your traffic tickets, consider the following: Once you post a bond and write a check for your traffic citations, you have pled guilty to the offense and received a conviction. You will have points added to your driving record—the number of points relates to your offense, generally 2-4 points per offense.