Unpaid Fine

Mike_Eile

Hi there,

In November 2010 I went to the US on a 3 week holiday. We visited Arizona, Nevada and California. During my time in California (Santa Barbara) I was stopped by a police officer on the street for drinking a bottle of Corona.

I wasn't aware that this was illegal in Santa Barbara as I had seen several people drinking in Las Vegas on the street. I was given a fine by the police officer of $100 (after he took the bottle out of my hands and poured it over my flip flops!). I went to the courthouse in Santa Barbara the following day to pay the fine. However, they wouldn't accept cash and I was told to pay by cheque/visa, which I had no access to.

I therefore left the courthouse and didn't pay the $100. I brought the ticket back to Ireland and have it in my room still. I never bothered following up.

Now I am looking at going to Toronto later this month and the connecting flight is via New York. I have a few questions?

Will I be stopped in New York because I haven't paid this fine?
What is the best way to go and pay this fine?
Will I be charged additional penalties for non payment?

Any advice appreciated. Thank you

rockonollie

It really depends on the city.....I can't speak for Santa Barbara but even though it's an extreme action, technically they could have but out a warrent for unpaid fines.....it's not likely to effect you, but there is always a possibility......best thing for you to do is to be upfront about it and try and contact the courthouse.....they'll probably just charge your visa for the original amount

silja

1. Very unlikely. You'd have trouble getting anything that requires a credit check (rental car, leasing a holiday home), but just spending a few hours/ days in NY should be no issue.
2. Google Santa Monica Courthouse or similar. They may well have an online payment system or at least a phone number.
3. Probably, but it shouldn't be much.

ProudDUB

Agree with rockonollie. Contact the court directly. Find out from them what you can do to clear all this up. There should be a phone number to ring on the back of your ticket. (Expect another fine for not paying the first one on time btw.) When a fine goes unpaid, a court summons is usually issued. If you don't show up for your court appearance, a bench warrant is issued for the arrest of the offender. The US authorities may or not be able to track you through any subsequent travels thru the US, as you don't have a social security number, so you may be ok.

Did you give them your passport number when this happened? Do they have that on file? If they do, then you are on a database somewhere of wanted criminals/fugitives on the run. (It all sounds very Hollywood, doesn't it? :rolleyes: ) As soon as you present yourself at US Immigration, you'll be flagged. There is no way to know what might then happen. You could be arrested on the spot, or you may be refused entry into the US, or you may get some very nice official who will listen to your story, take pity on you and just wave you on. There is no way of knowing really, so pick up that phone !

I know it all sounds very over the top just for drinking a beer in public, but for future reference, most US cities and states have very strict laws about drinking alcohol from open containers in public places. It's called the Open Container Law. It is a big no no in most cities. There are a few party cities (Las Vegas being one) that don't have this law, but most of them do and it is usually strictly enforced.

Mike_Eile

Thanks everyone for the sound advice. I guess I wasn't aware of their law regarding drinking alcohol in the streets before, but I do now. I can't remember if I gave them my passport or not but I'm somewhat sure I did.

I'll pick up the phone tomorrow evening as I don't want to land in NY and be refused entry. Hopefully it'll be a quick and painless resolution. Thanks again for the advice!

mcfishface

Hi, sorry to bring up an old post - but what happened in the end Mike? I received an open container fine in NYC but paid the plea by mail.

Mike_Eile

mcfishface wrote: »

Hi, sorry to bring up an old post - but what happened in the end Mike? I received an open container fine in NYC but paid the plea by mail.

Hi there,

I ended up paying a $550 fine over the phone to Santa Barbara court as I was going back to the States and didn't want to be stopped at the airport and deported.

iusedtoknow

Mike_Eile wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the sound advice. I guess I wasn't aware of their law regarding drinking alcohol in the streets before, but I do now. I can't remember if I gave them my passport or not but I'm somewhat sure I did.
/QUOTE]

There is no fixed law regarding drinking alcohol in the streets...or a fixed penalty. Each town has it's own codes. The general rule of thumb is...look before you do. If you see a lot of people doing, then either the cops look the other way or it is legal...so use your judgement. If you see no one else doing it...it's probably illegal.

mcfishface

Mike_Eile wrote: »

Hi there,

I ended up paying a $550 fine over the phone to Santa Barbara court as I was going back to the States and didn't want to be stopped at the airport and deported.

Thanks Mike,

Glad they let you return despite the high fine. Nice to know they don't keep a record of this for immigration - despite having not paid the fine or attending court date!

Thanks for your reply

Mc Fishface