I have read some of the threads involving air travel and outstanding warrants and I have a quick question for some of the experts regarding ground travel.

Here is the situation in a nut shell. A friend of mine divorced in Florida and moved to Canada- all above the boards- no problems there. She had been in Canada for a few years, the ex back in Florida thought it would be cute to go down to the court every few months and file a motion for custody. This did not work the first three times, but the final time, he claimed that he did not know where she and the child were, claimed it was an emergency, and was able to get a hearing on it. Sandi appeared by phone for the hearing and told the judge that it was all a bunch of bunk and proved that he did in fact know where they were. Judge was not too happy about it so he demanded she send the child to Florida for a custody hearing. She had been living in Canada for 4 years, and had been contending with Florida court action at least once if not twice a year. She filed for a change of venue in Canada, and she eventually won. Unfortunately the Judge in Florida does not recognize the change of venue, demanded she appear for a hearing, she didn't go, so he issued a "FELONY" warrant for failure to appear.

She has contacted attorneys in Florida who all tell her that she should just come down and turn herself in. She is a school teacher, a felony arrest would cost her her job.

2 questions:
1. Is there a way she can check to see what will happen at the border- in advance of going? Can she check and see if there is a warrant tied to her passport? The passport was issued AFTER the warrant was- she was worried sick she would not get a passport but she did. Even her background check came up clean through the FBI.

2. Is she safe crossing the border on the ground? Once she becomes a Canadian citizen and gets a Canadian Passport- since her background came up clean, will the warrant be tied to her Canadian passport?

(The child at the centre of this hooey is 16 years old- the "father" has had no contact, paid no support, has not even tried to call her in almost 5 years....)

Aside from advising her to get a lawyer- which I have done, and she has checked into it-- she was advised 2500 retainer but she has to submit herself back to the jurisdiction of the court in Florida, OR, she was chastised and told to return to Florida and make right what she did wrong. She did not do anything wrong... but that is not the tpoic of my post.

Any advice for her?

Thanks!
Angel

Can't the Ex be arrested for not sending child support? I heard they have cracked down on that.

She might get some useful advice on Divorcenet.com.

A warrant is not "tied to her passport", whether an American or Canadian document. The warrant would likely be included in the NCIC database and may be discovered by a CBP officer at the border.

She did do something wrong, she ignored a Judge's order and they tend to get a bit pissy about that.

My suggestion is she contacts the court and asks them how to take care of the warrant without risking arrest during travel.

It seems unlikely to me that it's actually a felony warrant. You generally need to be charged with a felony for one of those (an information/indictment filed) -- and it's unlikely that this qualifies, IMO.

Obviously, the best advice is to get a local lawyer in Florida. Whether she crosses the border or not, the chances that she can handle this herself successfully are slim to none.

Thank you for the responses.
We have since found out that it is in fact a FELONY warrant on a Civil Case. Not sure how that is possible.
The Judge in Florida got really mad that the court in Canada assumed jurisdiction but it was because of things like not notifying Sandi of court dates, and other terrible procedural problems that resulted in the Canadian Court doing so.
We have been doing some research into it since attorneys want thousands of dollars to help her, and it says that a warrant can be issued when someone is summoned to court but does not show. She was never summoned to the court. In fact, she was pregnant/just gave birth and was unable to travel the first hearing- she told the judge she could not travel because of the impending birth and his response was "Your attendance is not required"... then the hearing was canceled due to a hurricane that hit, she received a notice of the change 3 weeks AFTER the hearing was held. SO she was not at that hearing either. The next thing she received was a copy of the ruling from the hearing that was rescheduled without her being notified- and that was advising her that she had been found in contempt of court and a warrant was being issued for her arrest. She had good cause not to be there- she had just had a baby and could not travel- even so, that hearing was canceled and rescheduled and she was not notified- again, pretty good cause that she did not attend!

It is the biggest mess ever. She might be safe crossing the border since she has the change of venue documents from Canada, which were issued BEFORE the judge issued the warrant. And do you really think they would send law enforcement to go get her? Would there be an extradition hearing?
I almost think it might be worth it for her to go to the border with her passport and with her court docs and see if she can get it taken care of? It is a mess and I hate it for her. This whole situation is just rotten! Poor girl- she did everything her lawyers in Canada told her to do- they never thought the Judge in Florida would behave this way- but he surely did! Wow...

Thanks again for your thoughts on the matter... I wish I had a magic solution for her or that one of you might have some more thoughts....

Sorry for her horrible experience. When you get different jurisdictions, it tends to raise a lot of egos being puffed up. Particularly as jurisdiction is a basic element of a case. Still, considering how crowded court dockets are, I'm surprised the judge got upset a case was leaving. They're usually under pressure to get rid of cases as fast as possible.

This suggests he's an .... Unfortunate, but many judges are certifiable morons. Particularly those in offshoot branches like family law court, etc. but you find em everywhere.

I once worked for the DA's office in traffic court. Commissioner (wannabe judge) called me up 3 times and chewed me out asking why I wrote a deal the way I did. Finally, after the 3rd time, the clerk piped up and told him to quit yelling at me cuz I was doing it right. I later found out that egotistical moron eventually got appointed to the Superior Court. I feel sorry for anyone appearing in front of him.