Statute of Limitations
Some of our clients have hired The Coquat Law Firm for traffic ticket representation, but when our attorneys appear in court on their behalf, the citation by the officer has not been turned in, yet. Although the citation has not been submitted to the court by the officer, this fact does not automatically allow for dismissal of the citation. In actuality, under the Texas Criminal Procedure Code, an officer has up to two years from the date of the offense to turn in a citation. In the legal field, this two year period is called the Statute of Limitations.
The Appearance Date
Many individuals show up for the appearance date printed on their ticket just to be told the traffic ticket has not been turned in yet. Thus the term “appearance date” is confusing. The appearance date should not be confused with a “trial date”. When there is no citation on file when individuals appear in court, they often leave the court thinking the issue has been resolved. Frequently, the citation is submitted to the court within the two year period required by law. When this happens, a new appearance date is set based on the actual submission date. In this situation, the court often neglects to send notice of the new appearance date, even though the law requires the court to do so. The court will also only send notice of a new appearance date to the address on your traffic ticket, so if you’ve moved, you may not get notice at your new address and you will miss your new court date.
Failure to Appear / Warrant
Now real fun begins! Missing a court appearance date, even for a traffic citation, can become a potentially messy issue. Furthermore, once the appearance date is missed, the court will usually issue a warrant. In this situation the court imposes what is called a Failure to Appear citation. A Failure to Appear citation is an additional, often very costly fine. In addition, a Failure to Appear citation is often difficult to remove from the client’s driving record. An individual with an unresolved citation in Failure to Appear status on their driving record cannot renew their driver’s license. When a client hires The Coquat Law Firm, our attorneys work to keep a Failure to Appear citation off the client’s driving record, even when the court fails to inform the client of the filed traffic citation.
An Eye on Your Traffic Ticket
Traffic Ticket Not Turned In? The advantage of hiring The Coquat Law Firm is our attorneys keep an eye on the status of each client’s traffic ticket. Our attorneys are familiar with procedures in all of the Bexar County courts including: Bexar County Justice of the Peace Courts, San Antonio Municipal Court, Selma Municipal Court, Schertz Municipal Court, Leon Valley Municipal Court, and courts further out such as Bulverde Municipal Court, New Braunfels Municipal Court and Castroville Municipal Court. The Coquat Law Firm’s watchfulness helps clients avoid the stress that arises when the citation is turned in without their knowledge. Our attorneys check on the status of our client’s unreported citation on a bi-weekly or weekly basis. We save the client time, hassle, stress, and, more often than not, we save the client money. Once hired, The Coquat Law Firm, can keep a Failure to Appear citation off the client’s driving record, in the event the Court fails to inform the client of the turned in citation. As a result, the client’s driving record stays clean. Because our attorney’s check the status of citations bi-weekly or weekly, The Coquat Law Firm will resolve a citation as soon as it is discovered. As a result, the client can go about their daily business without the nagging worry of such a pesky traffic citation.
Contact Us
To start the process of resolving your single citation or multiple citations today, fill out the simple information form at TrafficTicketSA.com and let The Coquat Law Firm help you.