Statute Of Limitations On An Old Traffic Ticket

[LindaLou]

OK, got a ticket in Podunk, Texas in 2002.
I forgot about it, never went back to TX, never paid it.
Stay in Louisiana, got my new driver's license in 2005 and nothing came up.
What is the statute of limitations on traffic tickets? Would they apply in my case?
I never got any letter or anything saying that there was a bench warrant or anything at all about the ticket.

[jk]

once you are charged with a crime, the SOL is not applicable.

a ticket is a charging instrument.

bench warrant; they don;t have to notify you. They simply enforce the warrant when they have the opportunity.

[lwpat]

You need to pay the fine and then probably pay the Texas DMV a reinstatement fee. Some TX tickets as old as 1988 have been showing up.

[dorsett]

In California, you could just file a Motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution (aka Serna Motion). It is based on federsal rights granted by the 6th ammendment to the US constitution. They differentiate misdeameanor & infraction cases from felonies, giving the prosecution one year from the initial arrest or filing of the complaint to actually prosecute the case, just issuing a bench warrant is not sufficient. They need to go out and find you. There is a good example of the motion here:

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3030

Thee might be something similiar in texas. You might even try filing the same basic motion using the srguments from Serna in Texas since they were essentially relying on federal rights and Texas is similiar to california on how they handle traffic matters, mainly allowing warrants to be issued on a sworn comlaint from a peace officer and a failure to appear.