Does Missing A Court Date Affect Your Criminal Case?

Most criminal cases begin with an arrest of the individual who allegedly committed a crime. After the arrest, the person may bail him or herself out of jail but getting out of jail does not end the case. There is a process the person must follow and go through before the case is over, and during this time, the person will have to attend court hearings. If you are this person and end up missing a court date for any reason, here are the effects this could have on your case.  

The Judge Could Order a Warrant or Give You Another Chance

Missing court for any reason is a serious problem; however, courts and judges also realize that there are good reasons a person might miss court. When the judge calls your case and you do not walk to the front of the courtroom, the judge might be upset that you are not there. At this point, the judge will have to make a decision, and the decision is usually one of two things:

1. Give you another chance – The judge might give you a set number of days to appear without having any consequence for missing the hearing or to give you a chance to try to rectify the situation.
2. Order a bench warrant – The other option the judge has is to issue a bench warrant. If this occurs, the police will arrest you and put you in jail.

These are the only two options judges choose from when a person misses court.

You Could Face New Charges

Not appearing to a scheduled court hearing is something that is considered contempt of court. It is absolutely vital to attend all criminal hearings in your case if you want the best results from it, so missing a hearing is not a good idea. When you miss a hearing, not only could you suffer from harsher consequences with your original charges, but now you might face the charge of contempt of court as well. This simply means that missing court could result in more legal problems for you.

You Could End Up Back in Jail

If you missed a court date while out on bail, there is one other serious consequence you risk facing, which is going back to jail. Judges have the authority to revoke bail which means that you no longer can be out of jail on bail, as you are a flight risk. If this occurs, the bailiff in the courtroom might take you instantly back to jail, and you will remain behind bars until the case is settled and the judge orders your release.

Missing a court hearing is not a good idea, so you should do everything in your power to attend all hearings for your case. If you have questions about any of these things, call a criminal law firm.