[Pintman]

Originally Posted by word

Chemda I think the right situation should have been a summons. They recite you at the time of the other ticket. You can pay it at your leisure online or at a specific place. If you fail to pay that second summons. A warrant for your arrest should be issued as well as the fine. I agree it's a bit heavy-handed to arrest you after 15 years with no action.

Here's the point: A court only has to mail notices to the last address the defendant has given. They don't have to (and can't) track her through the years. If the defendant moves, it is her duty to notify the court of the new address. If she doesn't, that becomes her problem.

Understand the process. There was a summons, 15 years ago. It would have been handed to Chemda or mailed to the address she gave at the time that she was caught. That summons was ignored.

There may have even been (probably was) a second notice issued at that point, again mailed to Chemda's last known address. Then at some point, having not heard from Chemda, the court finally issued an arrest warrant. Again it would have been mailed to the last address the Court had on its books for Chemda. Maybe (probably) Chemda had moved at least once in the meantime, but it was up to her to notify the court of the new address.

Yes, Chemda had multiple IDs or driver licenses issued in the meantime, and the old warrant never came up. But this isn't surprising because different government agencies don't work off a single, cross-referenced database. The DMV doesn't have the addresses that the court has, and vice versa. The DMV can't routinely check for warrants on every renewing driver. This is probably a good thing, because a single database accessible to every government agency would make it easier for the government to spy on people.

Not picking on Chemda, not trying to sound like a know-it-all, but people who blow off even little things like this are just asking for trouble.