If You Pay Your Warrant, What Happens

[FinShaggy]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Texas

I have a misdemeanor warrant in Texas, for leaving while I was on probation. They took me off probation, and reopened my case/trial, so the "dispute" won't be probation related.
They put out a warrant, I searched to find it and it's only $1000.

If I pay the warrant they can't arrest me right? When they look me up there will be no warrant, right?

But do I still have to go to court, or do they just want my $1000? Once you have no warrants, you have no problems, right?

[flyingron]

They want you to go to court. The $1000 is bail. If you fail to appear again, you'll lose the $1000 AND there will be another warrant.

[FinShaggy]

Maybe I wasn't clear, but I didn't PAY $1000 yet.

It's not bail (Bail is for jail), it's the amount on the warrant.

[viol8te]

You are not understanding. They want you to go to court. You missed your court date and the issued a warrant for your arrest. The amount to get the warrant lifted is $1000.00. After the warrant is lifted, you are expected to attend the hearings until the case is disposed of.

[FinShaggy]

Ok, so:

Once the warrant is paid, they will start sending me new court dates?

But they can't arrest me, unless I fail to appear?

I thought if I paid off their "Motion to Adjudicate guilt" they had to stop trying to adjudicate guilt.

How do rich people get off? Are they all on probation?

[PTPD22]

It's not bail (Bail is for jail), it's the amount on the warrant.

Yes, bail is for jail. A warrant is a court order to arrest you and put you in jail. The amount listed on the warrant is the bail amount the court has mandated for you the be released from jail when you are arrested for the warrant.

Once the warrant is paid, they will start sending me new court dates?

They will issue you a new court date at the time you pay the bail amount of the warrant. It is very unlikely that this is something you can just send a check to the court. You will be required to physically show up. Technically, you will be surrendering yourself, you will be arrested for the outstanding warrant, and then released upon payment of the bail amount (probably after the whole booking process in jail). They will give you a new court date before they release you. If you fail to appear for the new court date, a new warrant (likely with an even higher bail amount) will be immediately issued.

But they can't arrest me, unless I fail to appear?

Once you surrender yourself and are released on bail, you will no longer be subject to arrest for the warrant. But, yes, if you fail to appear again, you will be subject to arrest on a new warrant.

I thought if I paid off their "Motion to Adjudicate guilt" they had to stop trying to adjudicate guilt.

The "Motion to Adjudicate Guilt" is an order for you to go to court so that guilt CAN be adjudicated. The only thing you are "paying off" is the bail to allow you to remain out of jail until adjudication is completed in court.

How do rich people get off? Are they all on probation?

Most typically, rich people "get off" by paying outrageously expensive lawyers to file motion after motion...to delay, delay, delay and force the prosecutor's office to spend so much resources on answering motions that the prosecutor decides that the benefits of pursuing the case are overshadowed by the cost. The "rich people" typically spend many times more in attorney's fees than they ever would have paid in fines...but they stay out of jail and keep a clean record. Of course this tactic backfires when public and/or media attention develops the case into "high profile"...then the prosecutor has no politically acceptable option but to pursue the case and seek a conviction in spite of the cost. Then the "rich people," particularly with financial crimes, find their assets seized, have expensive fines, a trip to "club fed," and declare bankruptcy to avoid having to pay their legal costs...and end up facing their own expensive lawyers in bankruptcy court. LOL.

[indybail]

Trust me. When it says $1000 on a warrant, that is the bail amount to be posted when you are booked on the warrant.