After recently filing for my second permit i got a pleasant call from Franklin PD. Seams there’s been arrest warrant for me since 1996 out of Belmar . Either i was so bombed i don’t remember getting a ticket for fireworks or someone gave a cop my info. I tried calling Belmar and they were very unhelpful, I’d say down right nasty. Luckily all i need to do is pay a fine of a few hundred dollars and it will all go away but it’s funny how this never came up in the last 22 years!

If this happened 22 years ago, the statute of limitations has likely expired.  I'm sure that you have been pulled over at least once in the past 22 years, and this didn't come up during the stop?  hmmm....  I think maybe there has been a clerical error somewhere.

I was curious about that, i was wondering if it’s still in affect because it’s just a fine not an actual criminal charge? 

I was wanted by cops too. A tenant handed me an old warrant for my arrest for not showing up to pay a garbage ticket in New Brunswick. The ticket was mailed to the wrong address even though the property tax bill was being sent to my house. I went to the police station and I posted bail, then paid the ticket. Later the city told me to call the inspection department and change my address with them.

1 minute ago, JMich3 said:

I was curious about that, i was wondering if it’s still in affect because it’s just a fine not an actual criminal charge? 

If FPD says there's a warrant, it's developed beyond a fine.  The warrant may be expired and need to be purged.  I'd call the court clerk and see what can be done about that.  Do not admit anything, just say it was so long ago I can't recall.

8 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

If this happened 22 years ago, the statute of limitations has likely expired.  I'm sure that you have been pulled over at least once in the past 22 years, and this didn't come up during the stop?  hmmm....  I think maybe there has been a clerical error somewhere.

Once you have been found guilty it never expires. Because the OP did not show in court he most likely was found guilty. If the cops could prove NOW that I did something wrong 10 years ago then I will be covered by the statute  of limitation

I spoke to the court clerk and she was very nasty and offered no help what so ever. I asked her about reducing the fine since it’s so long ago and her response was” are you asking me Falsify a court document?? That is illegal, We could both be prosecuted for that! “ no joke that was her answer. I don’t think she will be much help. I’m going to reach out to a lawyer in the family and see what he says.

1 minute ago, JMich3 said:

I don’t think she will be much help. I’m going to reach out to a lawyer in the family and see what he says.

That seems like the best plan.

The fine is only 350 bucks but that’s 350 that i had put aside for my next purchase

4 minutes ago, JMich3 said:

The fine is only 350 bucks but that’s 350 that i had put aside for my next purchase

Well, yeah, but even if the fine is just for a misdemeanor, and there was a warrant, that goes on your record.  Paying the 350 is the easy way out, but it will give you a black eye.  I'd try to make it disappear, like it never happened.  A good attorney could make that happen.  Basically, paying the fine may open a can of worms.

Would that mark on my record prevent me

from getting permits in the future?

1 minute ago, JMich3 said:

Would that mark on my record prevent me

from getting permits in the future?

That's just it, you just don't know.  Simply offering to pay the fine while there is an outstanding warrant may invite Five-0 to your doorstep.  Talk to your lawyer.  I'm not a lawyer, just saying what I'd do.  Don't forget, this is NJ, even the simplest things can easily get out of hand fast.

Complaints and warrants don't expire.  Once they are signed or issued they are good forvever until they are adjuticated in court.

I knew it!

 

2 things;

1 not you,get a lawyer 

2 you, get a lawyer 

Being there is a warrant issued you can't just pay the fine.  The warrant was issued because you didn't just pay the fine like a parking ticket.  You need to do this before the court date on the parking ticket.

I don't know if this was a just a "pay the fine" violation.  I would think its not.  The violation might have a mandatory and/or maximum penalty.  The judge would determine in court what your penalty was.

I would think you need to go to,

1.  Post the bail specified on the warrant.  You probably need to do this in person.

2.  Appear in court and enter a plea.  The judge will determine your fine plus any contempt penalty for failure to appear for the original court date.

The only out I see on this is if the cop who issued the summons has retired or is otherwise unavailable.  I spent half a day once in court waiting to plea not guilty for a parking ticket I got on a broken meter.  Cop didn't show and judge just dismissed it.

2 minutes ago, GRIZ said:

I would think you need to go to,

1.  Post the bail specified on the warrant.  You probably need to do this in person.

2.  Appear in court and enter a plea.  The judge will determine your fine plus any contempt penalty for failure to appear for the original court date.

Griz, with all due respect to your experience, I disagree.

1) Get a lawyer to investigate the matter and have the warrant revoked.  This can be negotiated with the prosecutor and judge.  The right lawyer can accomplish this task.  It does not mean the OP is out of the woods, as he needs to address the original misdemeanor charge(s).  If it was a criminal charge, it would be a different story.  The problem with just going to the court to post bail is that they could arrest and process him before he can post bail.  A good attorney can prevent that from happening.

2) 22 years is a long time.  That leaves a lot of wiggle room for lawyerly maneuvering to have the charges dismissed, as would be the case if the PO who wrote the complaint is no longer available, but this is where the lawyer should be earning their pay.

One way, or another, the OP is going to have to shell out some money and deal with the court.  But, there is a possibility that the matter can be settled without leaving a strike on his record.  Based on the response he got on the initial contact with the Belmar court clerk, I'd say trying to resolve this without a lawyer would be unwise. 

26 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Griz, with all due respect to your experience, I disagree.

1) Get a lawyer to investigate the matter and have the warrant revoked.  This can be negotiated with the prosecutor and judge.  The right lawyer can accomplish this task.  It does not mean the OP is out of the woods, as he needs to address the original misdemeanor charge(s).  If it was a criminal charge, it would be a different story.  The problem with just going to the court to post bail is that they could arrest and process him before he can post bail.  A good attorney can prevent that from happening.

2) 22 years is a long time.  That leaves a lot of wiggle room for lawyerly maneuvering to have the charges dismissed, as would be the case if the PO who wrote the complaint is no longer available, but this is where the lawyer should be earning their pay.

One way, or another, the OP is going to have to shell out some money and deal with the court.  But, there is a possibility that the matter can be settled without leaving a strike on his record.  Based on the response he got on the initial contact with the Belmar court clerk, I'd say trying to resolve this without a lawyer would be unwise. 

With or without a lawyer I'm pretty sure he's going to have to do my #1 and #2.  I've never heard of an arrest warrant being revoked unless there were very extenuating circumstances.  There may be but you're still going to need the judge to revoke the warrant and dismiss the case.

The court clerk was correct in what they told the OP about reducing the fine.  They weren't being a jerk IMO. Just trying to let the OP know this probably won't be settled by just paying a fine.  If there was some error by the court that would be taken into consideration.

Griz, with all due respect to your experience, I disagree.
1) Get a lawyer to investigate the matter and have the warrant revoked.  This can be negotiated with the prosecutor and judge.  The right lawyer can accomplish this task.  It does not mean the OP is out of the woods, as he needs to address the original misdemeanor charge(s).  If it was a criminal charge, it would be a different story.  The problem with just going to the court to post bail is that they could arrest and process him before he can post bail.  A good attorney can prevent that from happening.
2) 22 years is a long time.  That leaves a lot of wiggle room for lawyerly maneuvering to have the charges dismissed, as would be the case if the PO who wrote the complaint is no longer available, but this is where the lawyer should be earning their pay.
One way, or another, the OP is going to have to shell out some money and deal with the court.  But, there is a possibility that the matter can be settled without leaving a strike on his record.  Based on the response he got on the initial contact with the Belmar court clerk, I'd say trying to resolve this without a lawyer would be unwise. 

Agreed. Get a lawyer to make some phone calls during business hours. If OP has no clue what it is then it could be a mistake or someone could have given his info. Where was originally documents to appear in court sent? If they screwed up from the beginning could be very easy to make it go away. Do not go to the police station or court on your own, especially not on the weekend. Also don't get pulled over.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

...and not just any lawyer.  One with connections in the town.

 

On 9/8/2018 at 10:38 PM, W2MC said:

...and not just any lawyer.  One with connections in the town.

 

THIS^^^^^  Easier to deal with w/o the bloviating & chest-thumping as the precursor to actually "making it go away".

Warrants are a crazy thing.  I knew a Police Dispatcher & part-time Cop with an arrest warrant sworn against him for pistol whipping his wife a-la Wyatt Earp.  In the same town he lived in.  In the same town he worked at (at the Cop Shop!).  He was politically "connected" so nobody would actually serve him with the warrant.  This was 4 decades ago now.  Things were a little different back then........

On 9/8/2018 at 8:45 AM, JMich3 said:

After recently filing for my second permit i got a pleasant call from Franklin PD. Seams there’s been arrest warrant for me since 1996 out of Belmar . Either i was so bombed i don’t remember getting a ticket for fireworks or someone gave a cop my info. I tried calling Belmar and they were very unhelpful, I’d say down right nasty. Luckily all i need to do is pay a fine of a few hundred dollars and it will all go away but it’s funny how this never came up in the last 22 years!

Never been to Belmar, never got a summons, never used fireworks, musta been some other JMich3!!!

Thass what yer mouthpiece oughta say!

Doesn’t @Shawnmoore81 carry around a letter saying he’s not the Shawn you are looking for?

Yes I do. I have em in my phone and have hard copies


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Every time I interact with "the law" I make it a point to scream, "You'll never take me alive!"

The cuntiest people work in Jersey shore municipal offices....

Well it took a few months and a bunch of tries but i finally put this to bed. In the end Belmar just wanted their money. Tried on my own to get more info and got nothing. Got a lawyer from the Belmar area to try and get it dismissed, we got no where. In the end i paid the fine and I’m moving on with my life. This will not impact my ability to own or purchase more firearms in the future. 

Congrats!  Did the lawyer get it expunged too?

Didn’t need to. All they wanted was the money . Paid the fine and it all went away.

On 9/8/2018 at 8:52 AM, Scorpio64 said:

If this happened 22 years ago, the statute of limitations has likely expired.  I'm sure that you have been pulled over at least once in the past 22 years, and this didn't come up during the stop?  hmmm....  I think maybe there has been a clerical error somewhere.

Ooh, I like this idea. Some of my stuff is no doubt expired, or about to be...

ask someone to run your arrest record.  50 bucks says it shows up.  I believe you will still need to get it expunged or you will have to answer for that arrest every time you apply for a permit.