Inevitably, sometimes people miss their scheduled court dates. Even if the underlying offense was minor, the consequences for failing to show up in court for a scheduled appearance could be severe.
If you missed a court appearance, you should meet with one of our well-versed Attorneys at Leifert & Leifert. Reach out to a Sunrise failure to appear Lawyer today to see how they can help you resolve this matter as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Why Do People Miss Their Court Appearances?
Any time a person receives a summons to appear in court, they are obligated to show up. People are under the same duty to appear in court, whether the summons is for something major, such as for jury duty or a serious criminal or high financial stakes civil case, or something relatively minor, such as a traffic citation or parking ticket. Failing to appear in court on a specified date after receiving any type of a court order or summons can trigger immediate consequences.
Sometimes, people do not appear in court due to an unexpected emergency or because they had conflicting plans that took them out of town. Other times, people fail to show up in court because they were afraid to face the charges and panicked. Sometimes the failure to appear was completely unintentional either because they never received the notice to appear or because they just completely forgot about it. No matter what the reason for the failure to appear is, a local Attorney can help.
Potential Penalties Following a Failing to Appear Offense
In Florida, failing to show up in court for a scheduled appearance can result in severe penalties including:
- An arrest warrant
- Suspension of Driver’s License
- Fines
How Does an Arrest Warrant Work?
In some situations, the court will issue an immediate arrest warrant. When there is a warrant for an offender’s arrest, police can arrest that offender at any time and in any place. For example, if a police officer pulls over an offender’s car for a minor speeding violation, and discovers an outstanding warrant after performing a routine scan of that offender’s license and registration, the police officer can arrest that offender on the spot, which can lead to a very public, embarrassing, and inconvenient situation. An outstanding arrest warrant will never just go away on its own. It will remain active until the matter is resolved.
Suspension of Driver’s License
Often, failure to appear triggers an immediate suspension of an offender’s driver’s license. Sometimes offenders are unaware that there is a problem until they are unable to renew their driver’s license.
Fines
Failure to appear in court is an offense separate from the underlying crime and can bring with it heavy fines.
An experienced Attorney would encourage individuals to proactively turn themselves in before the police find them to minimize the penalties. However, even if someone does not reach out to an Attorney until after an arrest, local Attorneys could still negotiate with the prosecution on a person’s behalf so that they could quietly accept responsibility, appear in court, and hopefully face lesser consequences.
Reach Out to an Attorney in Sunrise Experienced in Failure to Appear Cases
If you believe that there is an outstanding warrant for your arrest because you did not make a scheduled court appearance, reach out to one of our seasoned Attorneys at Leifert & Leifert who will listen patiently and then advise you as to all of your options. A Sunrise failure to appear Lawyer will stand by your side and help you navigate through all the complex legal issues that arise throughout your case.
