By Christopher Weldy, Weldy Law Firm, PLLC
You were driving to work, or renewing your license, or applying for a job—and you found out there is a warrant for your arrest connected to a DUI case you did not know existed. If this has happened to you, the first thing I want you to understand is that you are not the only person this has happened to, and there are concrete steps you can take to address it.
Across Mississippi, justice courts convict DUI defendants in their absence every day. When that happens and the defendant does not pay the fine or complete the sentence, the court issues a bench warrant. That warrant sits in the system indefinitely, waiting to surface at the worst possible moment. Many people discover a DUI warrant months or years after the conviction was entered—often because they were never properly notified of the charge or the court date in the first place.
Here is what you need to know, and what you should do.
A bench warrant does not expire on its own in any meaningful timeframe. It remains active in law enforcement databases, which means any encounter with police—a traffic stop, a routine background check at a courthouse, even a seatbelt violation—can result in your arrest. You can be taken into custody at a traffic stop, at your home, or at your workplace. The longer the warrant remains outstanding, the more likely that encounter becomes.
Ignoring the warrant also compounds the legal problem. If you are driving on a license that was suspended because of the underlying DUI conviction—and you may not even know it was suspended—you are committing an additional criminal offense every time you get behind the wheel. Under Mississippi Code Annotated § 63-11-40, driving with a suspended license carries its own set of penalties, and it gives law enforcement independent grounds to arrest you on the spot.
This instinct is understandable, but it is the wrong move. Anything you say to law enforcement can be used against you. Calling the justice court clerk to ask about the warrant may result in law enforcement being notified of your location. If you walk into the sheriff’s office to “clear things up,” you may walk out in handcuffs.
The right first step is to call a lawyer.
An attorney can pull the court records, determine exactly what happened in your case, and assess your options before you ever interact with the court or law enforcement. Specifically, an attorney can find out what charge was filed and when, whether the court has a record of providing you with written notice of the charge and court date, what sentence was imposed in your absence, whether your license has been suspended, and whether additional charges have accumulated.
This information determines the strategy. If the court convicted you without proper notice, that conviction may be subject to challenge. If the appeal window is still open, the attorney can file the appeal and have the warrant recalled as part of the process. If the appeal window has closed, there may be other legal avenues depending on the circumstances, particularly where due process was not satisfied.
Once an attorney has reviewed the records and identified the best path forward, you can address the warrant in a controlled way rather than waiting to be picked up. In most Mississippi justice courts, an attorney can arrange for you to appear voluntarily, post bond, and have the warrant recalled—all without a surprise arrest.
The bond amount for a DUI bench warrant varies by court and by judge, but in justice court the amounts are generally manageable. Having an attorney negotiate the terms of your voluntary appearance almost always produces a better outcome than being arrested unexpectedly.
One of the most urgent practical steps is finding out whether your driver’s license has been suspended. A DUI conviction in Mississippi triggers an automatic license suspension through the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, regardless of whether you knew about the conviction.
You can check your license status through the DPS Driver Service Bureau. You will need your driver’s license number, full name, and date of birth. You can also call the DPS reinstatement line at 601-487-7028.
If your license is suspended, stop driving. I understand that is difficult advice—especially if you depend on your vehicle to get to work—but every trip you take on a suspended license is an additional criminal charge waiting to happen. An attorney can help you explore options for getting your driving privileges restored as quickly as possible.
If you were convicted of a DUI in justice court without ever appearing, you have the right to appeal that conviction for a completely new trial—called a de novo trial—in circuit court. Under Rule 29.1(a) of the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, you must file a written notice of appeal along with the required bonds with the circuit clerk within 30 days of the judgment.
If you just discovered the conviction and the 30-day window has passed, do not assume you are out of options. The circumstances surrounding a guilty-in-absence conviction—particularly where proper notice was never given—can open legal avenues that would not be available in a typical case. This is exactly the kind of situation where you need an attorney to evaluate the specific facts.
What happened to you is not a personal failing. Mississippi’s justice court system processes enormous volumes of DUI cases, and the notice procedures do not always work the way the law requires. Defendants move. Addresses change. Notices are sent to the wrong place or not sent at all. The court proceeds anyway, and people end up with convictions, warrants, and suspended licenses they never knew about.
The law provides remedies for this situation, but those remedies require action. The sooner you address the warrant and the underlying conviction, the sooner you stop the accumulation of consequences—the suspended license, the risk of arrest, the criminal record affecting your employment and your life.
If you have discovered a DUI warrant you did not know about, contact Weldy Law Firm. I can pull the court records, determine what happened, and walk you through your options.
Weldy Law Firm, PLLC
1530 North State Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39202
Phone: 601-624-7460 | Email: Chris@WeldyLawFirm.com
