what to do if you forgot your court date
I Missed My Court Date! What do I practise?
Maybe you stepped out for a bathroom interruption and they called your name or maybe you lot simply over slept, but what do you do when y'all arrive too late (or not at all) for your traffic instance?
First question: "Was information technology a traffic ticket or a criminal accuse?" If you lot miss your court date and y'all were charged with a jailable offense such as reckless driving, DUI, driving on a suspended license ect. then the judge may effect a bench warrant for your arrest (in Virginia, lawyers telephone call this a capias).
Otherwise, the approximate will simply have a very brief trial in your absenteeism and usually find yous guilty. You will pay $35 in extra court costs for non showing up if the judge does a trial in your absence (a.thousand.a a "trial in abstentia").
You can find out if a capias or demote warrant has been issued by calling the court clerk or looking up your case online. If a bench warrant (a.one thousand.a a capias) is issued against you get an chaser immediately. Your chaser can often help get the warrant revoked if you act rapidly.
2d question: "How late are you?" If you are merely a few minutes late notify the deputies if they will talk to yous or just sit around and wait for the terminate of the docket. Some judges will take guilty pleas from belatedly arrivals and some judges volition fifty-fifty reopen your instance and continue it to a new court date, but only at the very finish of the docket.
If you lot completely miss your court engagement at that place are ii options: 1) a move to reconsider. You go earlier the same judge that tried you in your absenteeism and ask them to either alter your punishment, remove the $35 trial in absence fee, and/or reopen and reschedule the instance.
If you want to plead "non guilty" so y'all are usually going to accept to reopen the case so reschedule information technology for the officer'southward side by side courtroom engagement. You typically have 60 days or less to ask for a motility to reconsider in General District Court.
Option 2), if less than 10 calendar days has by since your missed courtroom date you lot tin can ask for an entreatment and become a new trial in front of a new estimate in Circuit Court. If you are found guilty there will exist an additional $150 in court costs, merely you will get a brand new trial and the offset judge'southward judgement will exist voided pending entreatment. You lot can also ask for a jury but if y'all are found guilty y'all volition pay actress for the jury and jury trials are very complicated. Circuit court can be more formal than General District Court so strongly consider hiring an chaser.
If you are late to your trial and the judge finds you guilty in your absence you lot volition have fines and courtroom costs to pay. If you practise not entreatment or pay your fines and court costs your license will exist suspended. If yous brand a motion to reconsider the license suspension procedure will not be postponed pending reconsideration, just it will exist postponed awaiting an appeal to Circuit Court.
Luke Nichols
Spectrum Legal Defense
(703) 383-9222
world wide web.spectrum-legal.com
This entry was posted in Defending Yourself in Traffic Court, Driving on Suspended License, DUI/DWI, Misc. Traffic Tickets, Reckless Driving, Speeding Tickets and tagged abstentia, appeal, demote warrant, capias, courtroom costs, court date, belatedly to court, License suspension, missed, motion to reconsider, reconsider, trial in absence. Bookmark the permalink.
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