Expert: Philip Sweeting - 1/10/2006

Question
    I recently was arrested outside of a bar in Windsor, Ontario on New Years Eve for "Public Intoxication".  I served a night in jail and was picked up by my mother, who had posted bail, the next morning.  When I was being released, the officer had me sign a form  on which I could elect to go to court on January 30th for my case, or pay $65 and my record would not be affected (as I am an American citizen).  I chose to do the latter.
    My mom called the Windsor P.D. tonight to see if they, by chance, had my driver's licence, which has gone missing.  The person with whom she spoke informed me that I was to appear in court on January 30, 2006, or else a warrant would go out for my arrest.
   I feel deceived by the officer who made it seem that the ordeal would be over and done with by paying the money and signing.  Is it possible for me to be taken to Canadian court for this charge as an American citizen over the age of 19?  If so, and if I am found guilty, will this appear on my criminal record?
    Thank you for any advice.

Answer
To be safe you should either appear for court or talk to a canadian lawyer. Hopefully you have something to show you paid the money and it explains what it is for. You might also try to contact the court and explain what took place to verify if you actually do have to go to court.

For such a trivial charge you would think they would have a mechanism in place so you could just pay a fine (which you did). I suspect the second officer may be incorrect. I live in south Florida and if you believe him, I would have to travel back to Canada just to plead guilty and pay a minor fine? Does not sound logical to me.

If a warrant was issued for you, it is unlikely you would be arrested in the states for a minor infraction and taken back to Canada, but if you went back to Canada you might get picked up. In any event you should clear it up.