I received a "uniform citation" in Kentucky for expired tags. Was I required to appear in court?

2008-09-16 09:57:21 UTC

On 8/19/08, I was in-line at a drive-thru, and a cop was in-line behind me. After I pulled away from the window, the cop pulled me over, because he noticed my tags had expired (I was not pulled over due to any traffic violations, etc.; he merely saw my tags). However, I did not realize the tags were expired, as the car is co-registered in my husband's name, and the registration month is his birth month, not mine. I never received a renewal notice in the mail, because my husband "takes care" of the mail and passes along my mail to me (obviously, I was never given the renewal notice). So, when the cop told me my tags were expired, I was genuinely surprised. My license is valid; my insurance is current; and my driving record is clean (never received any speeding tickets, etc.). After I explained to him why I wasn't aware my tags had expired, he understood and told me to pay as soon as possible, which I assured him I would.

He gave me a "Uniform Citation" with violation code 00424, statute/ordinance 186.170, and listed 1 in the "Charges" field. When he handed the citation to me, he said "If you have a court date, which I don't think you will, it will be on 9/15 at 9am. But, I marked it payable, so you should be able to just pay it." He said other basic "traffic stop" things, but since he seemed so unsure about whether or not I would need to appear in court, I didn't bother to ask for clarification.

In the "Court" section on the citation, the court date is listed as 9/15/08, the court time as 0900 am, and in the section under "Court" where there are two checkboxes (one for "Payable" and one for "Court"), the "Payable" box is checked, and the "Court" box is not checked. Additionally, no fines are listed in the section for that on the citation.

I promptly paid and renewed my tags, and then proceeded to the courthouse to inquire as to whether or not I was required to appear, since the citation was marked "Payable" and the officer did not seem to think I would be required to appear. However, the only lady that was available to speak with me was no help whatsoever, and did not even look at the citation when I presented it to her and inquired about whether or not I must appear.

So, I did some research online, and was sure I was not required to appear based on the information on the citation. Therefore, I did not appear in court on 9/15 (yesterday).

However, as I am prone to worry, I am now concerned about the fact that if I was required to appear, that now I have a bench warrant issued for my arrest due to "failure to appear". Yes, it was silly of me not to go; I realize that.

But, is there anyone with personal or professional (law enforcement, judicial system, etc.) experience in *KENTUCKY* that could provide any insight/advice for this specific situation? I've found much information about what happens in other states, but I need to know about Kentucky specifically.

Thanks so much in advance.