Legal Question in Traffic Law in Louisiana

They have 6 months to initiate prosecution. However, if they do initiate prosecution and you fail to appear, there is no prescription ("statute of limitations") on the attachment ("bench warrant") that is then issued for your arrest and the case never goes away. Many people mistakenly believe they can "beat the system" if they don't appear and then let the "statute of limitations" run on traffic tickets. Not so. The state doesn't need you to be there to institute prosecution and they do so whether you appear or not. And, once prosecution has been initiated, the case will never just "go away".

My advice is to hire a local attorney who handles traffic cases in the parish where your case is pending and have that attorney go in for you, have the attachment recalled, pay the contempt of court fine for missing court, then reset the case for trial. You won't be arrested that way. And, more good news...You can still fight the original charge if you never showed up previously and you can get the attachment recalled and get your license back immediately--whether you win or lose.