I got stopped 12 years ago, for not having proof of insurance, before receiving any notices, I was moving and did move out of state, I never went back to the state of GA. Now 12 years later (GA) they say I have a bench warrant. For what? And shouldn't that have expired by now. Not a crime just a fine is the usual requirement??

No, bench warrants ( at least in GA) never expire, And there is a difference in GA ( big difference) between no proof and no insurance, If you had insurance but just no proof, it is just a fine, actually often just droped if you provide proof. If you did not actually have insurance, your license would be suspended, you can get jail time ( does not happen normaly) and there is a large, very large fine.

In fact if I know at the scene when I stop someone that there is no insurance for sure, the persons car gets impounded, and the person has to go to the jail to post a bond. Normally at the scene we can't be sure, and leave it to the court to find out at trial.

But you need to hire an attorney in GA, have them arrange bail, and then you will have to appear, unless the attorney can arrange for the fine, which will be a lot ( and I mean alot) higher since it will include additional costs for the failure to appear.

So time to hire an attorney.

Actually seldom do any bench warrants expire, some places, most often cities, go though every few years and void old ones, but this is not common.

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Originally Posted by slick nick

I got stopped 12 years ago, for not having proof of insurance, before recieving any notices, I was moving and did move out of state, I never went back to the state of GA. now 12 years later (GA) they say I have a bench warrant. for what? and shouldn't that have expired by now. not a crime just a fine is the usual requirement???

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Do you know if the warrant is for the initial charge or for the non-appearance?

Bench Warrants rarely expire. The warrant could be for both due to the fact you never showed up. If you would have showed up in the first place you may have gotten a fine but who knows what you will get now for non-apperance. It depends on GA's toughness for this type of crimes. Either way you have a warrant. Since I am not an attorney I would suggest calling one and getting some sort of aid on this topic

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Originally Posted by johnnycupcakes

Bench Warrants rarely expire. The warrant could be for both due to the fact you never showed up. If you would have showed up in the first place you may have gotten a fine but who knows what you will get now for non-apperance. It depends on GA's toughness for this type of crimes. Either way you have a warrant. Since I am not an attorney I would suggest calling one and getting some sort of aid on this topic

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Bench warrants don't expire - no "rarely" about it.

Why don't you call them and ask what is the fine you can pay now to have this bench warrant taken care of? If they say you can't just mail a check for the fine, then I strongly suggest you engage an attorney to straighten out this mess as you could very well have huge problems when it comes to renewing your driver's license or other problems.

And, no, warrants do not just expire ever.