Can I be arrested in my home state for breaking a law in a different state?

Question

Hello,

Recently I went on a canoeing trip in Missouri on the Current River. It is a well traveled tourist spot, mostly college students partying along the river while canoeing. Recently I was ticketed for illegal possession of alcohol by a minor. I was told I have a court date in the court of the very small Missouri town many miles away from my home in Illinois. I have a few questions about the situation someone may be able to answer or direct me to a resource for the answers.

Will Missouri state mail me anything or inform any government offices in Illinois of the incident?

Would I be able to be arrested in Illinois if I missed the court date in Missouri? (i.e. I just dont show up and they dont bother finding me)

Do the river conservation officers have the same authority as a real police officer? (College security, for instance can give drinking tickets, but they hold little or no meaning if unpaid)

Answer 1

They will issue a warrant and the next time you are pulled over you could be arrested and extradited to answer to the charges, it is better to answer to them now than to be surprised in the future.

Answer 2

Thanks for the input all...I know it sounds like a fairly dumb question, but the only reason I asked is because one of the 'resort' employees mentioned that they give out these tickets like candy. He said the lawyers in that town will probably have 200 cases like this on their desk on Monday morning and that the conservation officer wont even appear in court if its fought.

Question 1:
I meant more so along the lines do I have seperate criminal records for different states. I know one of my friends had a DUI and they were able to pull that up when questioning us, but instead of arresting him they just ticketed him the same as me.

Question 2:
I agree with all you guys more or less, but I just thought the minority of the infraction and the commoness of the crime wouldn't likely be worth it to them.

BTW the ticket is $450 for opening a beer with my lunch. But oh well, what you gonna do right? And I did find out I could mail it in, but the ticket does seem a little steep to me. A friend of mine got one once for the same thing and it was like $50 and I researched the same crime outside the river in other parts of Missouri and they were much lower too.

Sry for making another account couldn't figure out any way to answer back...

Answer 3

Given state and number of citations given, citation paid voluntarily will be free money and the state will not get involved
and here is proof. If the state is noted that you missed trial, they will suspend your license and tell you to take a drug awareness case. Small towns make money only if they do not give the state thier fair share. Those who pay, are the ones who protect those who dont. If you would like i am [e-mail] and I will have the thing dropped. You should not repeat what i have told you because the success of the Judiciary lies in the confidence of the people. Truly you are not under thier jurisdiction. They would have had to arrest you and take you in for that charge; their just going on the fact that 98% of those who ge t the tickets will pay even if they have to make arrangement. Again. The Department is a small municipality. Small towns rarely turn in full dui's and if you are a minor, they KNOW THAT YOU SHOULDN'T KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. THEY DO NOT TEACH CONTSTITUTIONAL LAW IN SCHOOL ANBD THAT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT.

IF YOU DO NOT APPEAR, THE NEXT PROCESS IS TO SEND YOU A CONTEMPT CHARGE AND ORDER YOU TO APPEART FOR HAVING NOT APPEARED. HERE THEY WILL CHARGE YOU 350 TO LET YOU GO FROM THE NO APPEAR CHARGE AND SET ANOTHER DATE FOR YOUR COURT.

MOST SMALL TOWNS SKIP THE APPEARANCE NOTICE, AND NEVER CERTIFY ANY MAIL. SO NOTING IS GOOD. IF YOU SHOW INTEREST IN PAYING IT, THEY WILL GRAB YOUR FEAR FACTOR.

IF T HEY SEND YOU ANY NOTICE, LET ME KNOW.

Answer 4

Regardless of where you might be at any given time,
if you commit a crime then it will go on your record--
even if you've never done anything wrong before.
But, depending on the seriousness of the crime, and
whether or not the victim of your crime decides to
press charges, that will determine whether or not you
will have to be pursued into another state.
E.g., if you shoplift something in a store, but manage
to escape the prying eye of the store's video camera--
or perhaps the store had a dysfunctional camera at
the time--then you'd be likely to get away with it; no way
for charges to be pressed.
If, on the other hand, you steal a boat from a harbor
and the longshoreman calls the police... watch out.
Because no matter where you might be when any
officer of the law lays eyes on you, five hours or five
months after you've crossed over into another state,
you can--and most likely will be--arrested.

Answer 5

Failure to appear for any court date, regardless of how far away you live from that county or state, results in a bench warrant being issued for your arrest. It will likely result in jail time since judges don't take kindly to no-shows.

The next time you get stopped for any reason - even a minor traffic infraction - and the police run your name and driver's license, you're toast.

The computer system in patrol cars allow police officers to share information from state to state through the NCIC (National Crime Information Center).

Answer 6

If you got yourself there to commit the crime, you'll have to get yourself back to go to court.

Unless you can just pay a fine...that's their choice, not yours.

On getting arrested elsewhere, it's called a "bench warrant", and it's when you don't show up to court and somebody's supposed to go arrest you or arrest you if you show up or...I'm not sure how it works.

They don't tell you EVERYTHING on crime shows, y'know.

If you got a real ticket and a real court date...you better show up in person. You don't want to find out what their true power is while you're...elsewhere.

Just go back. At least you won't be making it any worse for yourself as far as legal issues (getting there and back is no concern of theirs...)

Answer 7

I would call the County Clerks office to determine if you can pay a fine or if you are required to appear in court. Yes they have the same authority. But I doubt they will come and get you for this offense.

Answer 8

yes they can cause if you do not show uo the court will issuse a bench warrent for your arrest . and it will be in the system plus then you will be charge with failure to appear in court it is not worht it plus you are under the drinkng age which is stupid on your part . like the old saying you want to play you have to pay

Answer 9

The subtext of your questions can be answered pretty easily: yes, you have to deal with the ticket, and yes, they will issue an arrest warrant if you do not.

Answer 10

yes, they can find you and extradite you too, but I doubt they would for such a ridiculous infraction. and yes the conservation officers do indeed have the authority required to write you a ticket for breaking the law in their jurisdiction.