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Can a warrant be issued for me if I do not pay restitution on a 16 year old case in Alabama? Can they arrest me in Florida?
Anonymous3 views1 answers
I received a letter from the District Attorney in the state of Alabama saying that I owe them money for court ordered restitution. This case was for illegal possesion of a credit card in 1994. In addition, this all happened 16 years ago! I payed my attorney and the associated fees at the time.
I was even pulled over several years later on for a traffic violation in Alabama without this resurfacing. My understanding at the time was that my attorney had gotten the offense reduced to a misdimeanor.
I thought this was over. Can they really come after me 16 years later and say I owe them money on some thing I barely remember the details of?
I am now living in the state of Florida. I am the owner of a state registered fire arm, so I can't possibly have a felony on my record?
tephen Andrew MoscaCriminal Defense AttorneyJacksonville, FL ·
I suggest you call your attorney on the original Alabama case, fax him or her the letter, and get their input. If restitution was ordered in the original disposition, whether the final charge was a misdemeanor or a felony, it can be outstanding to this day. They will not extradite you for it, and they probably will not issue a warrant. In fact, jurisdiction of the court may have expired, depending on the terms of the disposition.
If the original attorney is not available or not helpful, call the clerk of the court there and get a certified disposition and see for yourself what was entered at the time. Here in Florida, old unfulfilled restitution gets converted to a civil judgment which might affect your credit and come out of any eventual lottery winnings, but no longer has any criminal sanctions. Seems something this old only came up because someone over there is hurting for money and decided to seek out old restitution orders, sent out some letters, and wanted to see what came back in. But check for yourself or hire an attorney to assist. Good luck.
