Legal Question in DUI Law in New York

Typical a defendant�s failure to pay a criminal conviction surcharge will not result in a violation of probation. Some courts will issue a warrant for your arrest if fines and surcharges are not paid by a due date. It all depends on the policy of the court that sentenced you. Some courts inform defendants �that your failure to pay a fine and surcharge will result in a warrant being issued for his or her arrest,� if not paid by a certain date. My experience is that most court converts the unpaid fines and surcharges into judgments that continue to accrue interest if unpaid. Since your where sentenced almost three years ago it is unlikely that the court issued a warrant for your arrest and instead simply converted the paid fines to a judgment. However, this of course can have a negative impact on your credit score and will come up on any background check. Additionally, your license will be suspended and you will not be able to obtain a new license until the fines and surcharges are paid, you will also be charged and $35 suspension fee and a $35 termination fee. More specifically to your question, it is always a good idea to keep your probation happy. To that effect, if your probation officer asks you to pay your fines I would recommend you to do so. It�s also vital that you stay in regular contact with your probation officer. Five months sounds like a long time not to be in contact with your probation officer. I would recommend you touch based with your probation officer soon then later.