If you miss your court date, the judge will likely issue a bench warrant for your arrest. Prosecutors may also file criminal charges for failure to appear (FTA). Your driver’s license may even get suspended.
When police execute the bench warrant, you will be brought to court. This applies to missed court dates in both civil and criminal cases.
A bench warrant will be issued
When your case comes up on the judge’s docket but you are not present, the judge will issue a bench warrant. Similar to an arrest warrant, a bench warrant instructs law enforcement officers to
- find you,
- arrest you, and
- bring you to court.
Some judges may wait for some time for you to appear before issuing the warrant. Some may even shuffle their docket if they can, handling other cases while they wait for you to arrive. However, this is not a guarantee. The issuance of the warrant can happen at once, particularly if the judge has a busy day.
Once the bench warrant has been executed, you will be brought to court for a hearing. At that hearing, you will have to explain why you missed your court date.
The judge can then either:
- quash, or recall, the bench warrant, or
- impose jail time for contempt of court.
The criminal defense lawyers at our law firm have found that some excuses for missing a court appearance are more likely to work than others. Valid excuses tend to be things like:
- you had a medical emergency,
- your failure to appear was accidental and not an attempt to evade the court proceedings,
- you never received the notice to appear or was never informed of the court date, or
- you never made a written promise to appear in court.
The following excuses rarely work:
- you did not feel like going to court,
- you had other things to do,
- you could not get time off from work,
- you wanted to spend time with your friends or family,
- you thought that, by ignoring the case, it would go away, or
- you are convinced that you are innocent.
Charges for failure to appear
In addition to the judge’s bench warrant, prosecutors will also likely file criminal charges for failure to appear, or FTA. This is the crime of not showing up in court after:
- agreeing to appear on your own recognizance, or
- being ordered to do so by the court, such as through a subpoena.
Note that, if the court date you missed was related to a criminal case against you, then the FTA would be a new criminal charge. The underlying criminal case would still continue. If you were out on bail, it is often referred to as bail jumping.
The penalties that come with a conviction for failure to appear generally depend on the nature of the court date that was missed.
If you are a criminal defendant and missed a mandatory court date, the penalties for FTA typically depend on the severity of the underlying criminal offense. For example, in California, failing to appear in a misdemeanor case is also a misdemeanor. If the underlying offense is a felony, though, FTA would also be a felony that carries up to 3 years in prison.[1]
Also, missing a court date in a criminal case can make defending against the underlying charges more difficult. The judge will think that you are unreliable. They may even think that you are untrustworthy and that what you say is not credible. In some cases, your bail bond may be increased or even revoked. You may have to stay in jail while your case proceeds.
Finally, a criminal record that includes an FTA for a missed court appearance can impact subsequent cases. For example, if you later get arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), the judge may see the prior conviction for FTA and require a higher bail bond.
Driver’s license suspension
If you miss a hearing in traffic court related to a traffic ticket, the DMV may suspend your driver’s license over it. This can lead to further legal issues:
- when they next encounter you, police will likely initiate a traffic stop, and
- you will get charged with the crime of driving on a suspended license.
You will also still have to deal with the original traffic violation.
What to do for a missed court date
Obviously, the most important thing to do is not to miss the court date. Prepare in advance by:
- putting it in your schedule so that you do not forget about it,
- tell your boss if you need time off from work,
- arrange for any necessary child care, and
- give yourself extra time to get to court.
Getting to court early ensures that you have time to call the clerk’s office if something happens, like a car accident.
If you realize that you are about to miss your court date, you need to take immediate action. Call your lawyer or, if you do not have an attorney-client relationship with one, call the court as soon as you realize it. Your lawyer will then interact with the court on your behalf to get the date changed. Your attorney will then make sure that you make your next court date.
The more time you give the judge to reschedule their docket, the more likely you are to get a new court date. Just make doubly sure to appear at your newly scheduled court appearance.
If it would help, you can also request to appear by phone or by video call. These options were made available during the coronavirus pandemic and many courthouses still offer them.
Depending on the court hearing, your personal presence may not be required. Your attorney may be able to appear on your behalf. Ask your lawyer if this is the case for your upcoming appearance.
If you have already missed your court date, call the court as soon as possible. Explain what happened to the clerk of court and offer to get there immediately. Then call your criminal defense lawyer. If you have legal representation, the judge and prosecutor will be more likely to take you seriously.
“When judges set a court date but you do not show up, it wastes time for the judge, his or her staff, and the prosecutor. Missing a court appearance without a valid reason is the best way to make things worse in your case. It can also create an entirely new criminal case for failure to appear. No matter how enticing it may be to just skip court, it will only make things worse in the long run.” – criminal defense attorney Neil Shouse
Legal Citations:
[1] California Penal Code 1320 PC.
