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How can one find if there is a pending warrant out for their arrest?(other than asking a friendly policeman?)Case:Traffic ticket in GeorgiaUnpaid balance on same.Now resident in another state.Was informed that traffic tickets in Georgia are CRIMINAL MISDEMEANOURS subject to up to year in jail AND 1,000 fine.Also informed that in many cases, Georgia will not notify, but simply issue a bench warrant on the unpaid amount and then if you get pulled over anywhere at any time, then you can be held on that warrant until extradition (at your cost)is this true?how can i check the status of this?
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Georgia
Hello.You can check to see if you have a warrant by calling the clerk of court where your case would have been heard. Not all traffic citations carry the potential for jail time. Some are fine only, so in those cases a bench warrant may not have been issued. Your license will usually be suspended as well for failing to pay/appear on a traffic citation. Luckily, Georgia is not a member of the Driver's License Compact (a program that automatically shares the suspension with other states) so if your license is valid in your state now, the Georgia suspension would not affect it.If you do have a warrant, you may want to inquire as to whether the court has FTA court. Some counties in Georgia do that to review the cases to see if it can be resolved short of actually executing the bench warrant.And as to your question about extradition, if you are arrested on a bench warrant in another state they can't hold you indefinitely. You can be held for up to 30 days to see if the state wants to extradite you (which they likely won't for a traffic case). But because of the potential for being held, you may want to resolve this as soon as possible. The clerk of court's office is the first place to start, so I'd suggest calling them tomorrow (they would not be open today due to the government holiday).
Experience: 8 years legal experience