Why does someone fail to appear at a minor court date? Sure, there can be reasons, but one can usually reschedule. Failing that, one can pay the fine in advance if it's a simple misdemeanor in municipal court. Why would anyone simply fail to go and not make arrangements to avoid an arrest warrant?
You may say that municipal arrests don't show up on AlaCourt. You'd be correct, but they usually show up on credit reports, online news sites, and the Hard Times. Think about it.
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Try this experiment if you think misdemeanor arrests don't hurt a person's chance at a better job. The next time you see that John Doe, a former bank robber, was arrested for failure to pay a fine, bring up his name in casual conversation with someone, preferably a human resources manager. Ask what John was arrested for this time. Likely as not, the HR manager will mistakenly comment that it was for robbing a credit union or breaking into a payday loan store. Now ask the manager if the person stands a chance of getting a job in the company?
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