Dallas Municipal Warrants
If you have been issued a warrant out of the City of Dallas you need to be aware that you stand the real possibility of going to jail. Every city including Dallas is dealing with budget shortfalls due to the economy. The police force is being pressured to take more and more people in with outstanding warrants in the hope that you will post a “cash bond” to get out. This in theory will generate money for the
City of Dallas to help decrease the budget concerns.
DO I HAVE A WARRANT OR OUTSTANDING TICKETS?
What if you are not sure that you have any outstanding warrants or traffic tickets? The best site to go to is the Department of Public Safety’s site for tickets that have been reported as “failing to appear.” It is not a full proof site, but it is the best we have found. You will need your driver’s license number and date of birth to search the site. Once you have completed your search if you have questions regarding any outstanding warrants feel free to call us to discuss your case.
TEXAS DPS FTA WEBSITE:
http://www.texasfailuretoappear.com/search.php
I Want to Save Money. Can I lift my Dallas Traffic Ticket Warrants without Having to Hire an Attorney?
Here are the two options a person has if they want to represent themselves to dispose of the Dallas traffic ticket warrants:
1. Post a Cash Bond – This means you will have to post the full amount of the Dallas traffic ticket (usually $300 to $500 per traffic ticket) and you will have to appear in court. That is right! You will have to take off work at least one day (and maybe more) to appear before the judge of the court and explain why you missed your court date and why he should allow you to keep the traffic citations off your record. Further, you stand the risk of losing all the cash you posted towards the fines assessed for your original traffic tickets.
2. Time Served – Sit in Dallas jail. This is usually done when you get pulled over with outstanding warrants for traffic tickets and the officer chooses to arrest you on site. Once you have served enough time in jail for your traffic tickets, the judge can grant you time served to resolve the matter. The problem with this method is that time served is the same as pleading guilty to the underlying traffic tickets. This means that they will go on your record and be reported to DPS. Once they are reported to DPS, this agency can then assess civil penalties depending on the traffic tickets that were issued and you have to pay for your traffic tickets all over again! Time served is the least beneficial way to take care of most traffic citations in a post-surcharge era.
The bottom line is that warrants and fees for traffic tickets can easily surpass a month’s worth of paychecks if you are not careful. But even if you currently have traffic ticket warrants we can help you get out of this vicious cycle by posting an attorney’s bond which will lift the traffic ticket warrants and to represent you on the underlying traffic offenses.
Our fee for posting an attorney bond for Dallas warrants on Dallas traffic tickets are normally substantially less than you would have to pay if you posted the cash bond discussed in number 1 above. Further, the fee paid to our office includes representation at the first pre-trial hearing that the court sets after the warrant is lifted. In most cases, this means that you will normally not have to appear in court after we lift the warrants for
Dallas traffic tickets.
Further, once the warrants for traffic tickets in Dallas have been lifted we still have the opportunity to review your citations to determine if there is any legal reason to have the traffic tickets dismissed. Dismissal of your traffic tickets in Dallas most certainly would not be an option given to you if you posted cash bonds and chose to represent yourself for your traffic tickets. The prosecutor is not there to be your friend in that situation. They are there to (1) get a conviction or plea and (2) insure that the cash bond is applied to the fine amounts owed.