So what happens if you miss a court date? Rather than resolve your case, the judge will issue an Order for arrest for failure to appear.
Failure to Appear on Court Date
Because of our busy lives, things come up, and people miss their court dates. After all, sometimes you just can’t make it. So what happens now? First, the prosecutor will mark you absent. And then, the judge will issue an Order for your arrest. While in most cases, the police won’t come get you. However, if stopped for a traffic ticket, that’s when find yourself in handcuffs. Yet you can do something before this happens.
Since this is so important, you need to contact one of our attorneys as soon as possible. Consequently, we will add your case back on the docket and ask a judge to strike your OFA. Usually, this Motion is granted one time, and a new court date is set. However, if you miss another court date, your options become more limited. And that’s when bad things can happen like jail time. After all, judges and prosecutors view OFA the same as contempt of court. Even though you may have a good reason, they expect you in court as scheduled.
So How to Avoid an OFA
While some conflicts come up at the last minute, most situations give you some time to plan ahead. As a result, if you know you cannot make a court date, hire a lawyer or tell us in advance. Then we can try to move your court date to another time and avoid a failure to appear. Even if we cannot reschedule, it shows the judge you tried but could not appear for good cause. Rather than simply not showing up, let us take care of this situation for you. After all, our experience with Union County Monroe judges is that they are fair and reasonable. Just don’t take the chance and do nothing. But especially in DWI arrests, a failure to appear can make things harder for you. So call us first before bad things start to happen.