Asked 1/30/2016 – Houston, TX

In 2012 I was pulled over for a traffic violation (not having lights on my license plates). At the point of the stop I was asked if the officers could search my car. I agreed to let them do so. In my mind, knowing that they wouldn’t find anything, I had no worries. The officer came back with a small bag of marijuana. I was taken to jail and charged with possession of Marijuana. I posted bond and was released. At this time, I was in college 3 hours away from the county that I was arrested in. My first court date the judge pushed my date back, giving me time to find a lawyer. This happened two more times within a year span. The last time I went to court the judge said to me that I needed to either take the charge the next time she saw me or have a lawyer present with me. I was a college student, I couldn’t afford a lawyer. I definitely wasn’t going to take the charge for something that I KNOW wasn’t mine. So, what did I do? I didn’t show up to court the last time. So, now 3+ years later I have a warrant not only for possession of marijuana but also for bail jumping.

Answer

The Judge wasn’t kidding: you either needed to resolve the case or retain an attorney. You just cost yourself a lot of money, To remove the warrants, new bonds must be posted on each case.. A local attorney must be retained and begin to work on your cases. You did not do a lot for your credibility when you failed to appear for court. It’s going to be very difficult to convince the Judge in your case to believe you had no knowledge of the pot. Or you could just go to court, plead guilty and take whatever the Judge gives you, but this will probably mean convictions and jail time. Handle your business.