Bad Check, 1200 Capias Warrant, Can I Avoid a Record

[kraftymonkey]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: TN

I unknowingly wrote a bad check for $600 dollars and the person contacted me to clear it up.
They gave me 30 days to pay, and I had the money I just forgot about it.

I received a letter that says Capias Warrant 1200 dollars please come to jail within 10 days.
So I was going to go bring my $600 to pay the court clerk and money for a bondsman (maybe additional money for any fees incurred),
But someone recommended I wait and see if there was a way to take care of this without getting fingerprinted and having a record.

Is booking, bonding out, paying, then filing for expungement my only option?
Will paying the entire $1200 keep me from having an arrest record? (I know the people at the court here well and I'm sure it will be dismissed when I pay.)

[Mr. Knowitall]

Somebody (the village idiot, perhaps) suggested that you "wait and see"? This 'somebody' thinks that the criminal charge might magically resolve itself if you do nothing?

If you want to consult a criminal lawyer about retaining him to contact the prosecutor and to try to resolve this case without your showing up for fingerprinting and court. It's up to the prosecutor to decide if and when a case should be dismissed, not a court clerk.

[kraftymonkey]

Somebody (the village idiot, perhaps) suggested that you "wait and see [if there was a way to take care of this without getting fingerprinted and having a record]"? This 'somebody' thinks that the criminal charge might magically resolve itself if you do nothing?

Don't be daft. You're intentionally taking that out of context you know it. Your advice even proves so -- Retaining a criminal lawyer to contact the prosecution before the ten days is up and try to settle out of court would entail not going to booking.

It's up to the prosecutor to decide if and when a case should be dismissed, not a court clerk.

Of course the clerk doesn't decide cases. I did not say this. I said I would take the money pay the clerk in order to satisfy the amount owed before the court date. Then judge should dismisses the charge upon completion of a 2 hours bad check-writing class. This was the advice given by the first attorney I spoke with, but I failed to ask about avoiding an arrest record.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you are going to be an ass, you are not going to get much help here.

If there is a diversion program for which you might have qualified had you not blown off your court date, you can investigate whether or not you are still eligible. We can't do that for you. Check with the court or consult a lawyer who knows the terms of the program offered by your local court and prosecutor's office.

[kraftymonkey]

....had you not blown off your court date...

I'm not trying to be rude. I'm only correcting the facts. At first I thought you were doing it on purpose, but after that last comment I'm thinking you're just not reading thoroughly.

No where did I say I blew off my court date. It is a capias warrant. I haven't even had a court date established yet. Bad check writing over $500 is a bondable offense in TN pursuant to TCA § 39-14-121 and § 39-14-105.

I also forgot to mention that my lawyer said this was a very simple case and that I didn't really need him. He said I just needed to go pay it asap, get a court date set, see the judge, take the class, and then he would charge me an hour to draw up the expungement. I just forgot to ask him about bail. I just had those two pointed questions, since my lawyer was in court on Friday and will be unreachable until Monday. The 10 days on the capius are up next Wednesday.

[Disagreeable]

If you know the people at the court well, why are you asking us to read their minds? Ultimately, they will make the decisions.