Failure to Appear in Court
People in their 40s and older have a vague memory of a Disney cartoon where Donald Duck’s nephews skip school and a police officer follows them around, trying to arrest them. In most cases, being absent from school or work will not get you arrested, although it can have plenty of other negative consequences. If you miss a court appearance, though, a small problem can quickly get bigger. If it is a civil case, the court can enter a default judgment in favor of the other party; in child support cases and debt collection lawsuits, this can lead to the court garnishing your paychecks. In a criminal case, you can get additional criminal charges for failure to appear in court, on top of the charges that you are already facing. Here, our Miami criminal defense lawyer explains what happens when you miss a scheduled court date, including bench warrants and charges for failure to appear.
The Story of Florida’s Own Lieutenant Dan
With so many cases related to murder, drug trafficking, and public corruption going through Florida’s criminal courts, you might not expect news stories about misdemeanors to make it to the top of the social media feeds, but leave it to Florida Man to commit interesting misdemeanors. This month, the Internet can’t take its eyes off of Joseph Malinowski, Florida’s own Lieutenant Dan, who famously remained on his sailboat in Tampa Bay throughout Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. That was not why police originally sought him out, though. Malinowski had two outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court for previous cases; the news sources did not say what those previous cases were. Once the police found him, he got an additional charge for trespassing, since he was not supposed to be at the dock, because his boat did not have a proper waste disposal system.
What Is a Bench Warrant?
If you miss a scheduled court appearance, the judge can issue a bench warrant. The bench warrant is a set of instructions to police to arrest you and bring you to court to address the matter that led the court to schedule the original court date. Not all arrests arising from bench warrants result in criminal charges, whether the original date was for civil or criminal court, just as not all traffic stops or domestic violence calls that lead to arrests result in criminal charges or convictions. As with everything in the law, context matters. Missing a court appearance when you are out on bail is worse than missing a hearing in your child support case when you have never been arrested on suspicion of a crime.
Criminal Charges for Failure to Appear in Court
Failure to appear in court is its own separate criminal charge, if the state decides to file additional criminal charges after a missed court appearance. Whether the failure to appear charge is a misdemeanor or a felony depends on whether the original charge is a misdemeanor or a felony. For felony failure to appear, the maximum penalty for a conviction is five years in prison. Even if you do not get convicted for failure to appear, or for the underlying criminal charge, the court has the right to revoke your bail and suspend your driver’s license while the case is pending.
Is It Ever Acceptable to Miss a Court Date?
Judges only issue bench warrants and the state only files charges for failure to appear in court if you simply play hooky from your court date. An unexcused absence from a court date is one thing, but rescheduling your hearing because of a legally valid reason is another. These are some situations where the court will allow you to reschedule your court date:
- You are hospitalized
- An immediate family member of yours (a parent, spouse, child, or sibling) is in the hospital
- You are attending the funeral of an immediate family member
- Your court date conflicts with a pre-existing court date of yours
- You received notice of the court date only a few days prior, so you did not have time to make arrangements to attend, such as finding transportation or childcare or calling out from work
- You are incarcerated in another jurisdiction
If you cannot attend your court date, notify the court as soon as you find out, or have your lawyer contact the court on your behalf.
Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys
A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for failure to appear in court. Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.
Source:
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lieutenant-dan-gained-fame-riding-hurricanes-boat-arrested-florida-rcna176188
