Tuesday, May 26, 2009

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"A 24-year-old man was shot about 10 p.m. Monday in the 3100 block of Cliftmont Ave. and later died of his injuries"

11 comments:

ppatin said...

Does anyone here know if there's a way to find out if there's a bench warrant for a person in Maryland? Does a "Failure to Appear" in MD Judiciary Case Search mean that a person has a warrant out?

flamingo said...

ppatin: Usually a FTA will result in a warrant issue. This will appear in the case search column that normally states ACTIVE, CLOSED, etc., and when issued will state WARRANT. Hope this helps.

ppatin said...

flamingo:

Thank you for the advice.

Sean said...

Sometimes, though, the judge will not issue a bench warrant for an FTA until the 2nd FTA (at least in civil cases).

ppatin said...

Sean:

This is a traffic case. I don't really know the details, all I know is that a friend of mine has an FTA in the system. If it's turned into a bench warrant I obviously want to do the guy a favor and let him know so he can get it dealt with, but if there's no warrant or the information in MD Judiciary Case Search is incorrect then there's no reason to tell him about my bizarre habit of checking people's criminal records.

Sean said...

If it's a traffic citation and he got a notice to appear for a hearing (ie, didn't pay fine, etc), know this:

"If you do not pay your citation, it is extremely important that you appear in court on your trial.

If you fail to appear for trial, the MVA will be notified and will take action to suspend your license. Driving on a suspended license is a criminal offense for which you can receive jail time."

http://www.courts.state.md.us/district/selfhelp/traffic.html#failure

If it's a civil thing where someone is suing him, obviously that's different.

Sean said...

A judge may also grant a Motion for Default Judgment if a defendant FTAs. If a plaintiff FTAs, the judge can grant a Motion to Dismiss.

buzoncrime said...

PP--Usually when you see "FTA" in Maryland Judiciary Case Search, it means that the person received a traffic summons, and did not appear in court. Thus, and FTA is logged into the system. It used to be that they would issue bench warrants in these cases, but now do so only for serious stuff, like DWI.

As a result of the FTA, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration will suspend the driver's license of the person. So, your friend is driving around on a suspended driver's license--and probably doesn't know it--or think of it, or remember it.

If it's a criminal case, usually it will say right there on the trial date: warrant issued.

ppatin said...

buz:

Thanks for letting me know about the suspended license bit. It sounds like I'm going to have to have a slightly awkward conversation with him. Time to start thinking of excuses for why I was digging through MD Judiciary Case Search...

Sean said...

Hey, I said if first...

Firsties? Come on!

Unknown said...

what's his name. for that matter, what's YOUR name ? Please advise of your middle initial as well. thanks