Loudoun County Failure to Appear Lawyer

It is not uncommon for someone to have an emergency come up that prevents them from attending a court date or to forget they have a court date in the first place. However, it is crucial to communicate with the court promptly and clearly in this kind of situation. Otherwise, the court issues a warrant for your arrest based on your failure to appear, which could lead to serious criminal penalties regardless of the underlying charge you were meant to appear for.

Support from a seasoned defense attorney can be essential to addressing failure to appear charges proactively. No matter what caused you to miss your court date, a Loudoun County failure to appear lawyer could advocate on your behalf and represent your best interests during all ensuing legal proceedings.

Defining Failure To Appear Under State Law

The specific actions a court may take in response to a missed court date can vary based on the purpose of the court date. If the hearing was for a traffic offense or minor misdemeanor, the court may simply proceed with the case as usual and try—and possibly convict—the defendant in their absence. In other situations, the court may issue a Rule to Show Cause for Contempt of Court, which the defendant would need to appear in court to address separately from their original case.

Even when a court elects to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of a defendant for failing to appear, the severity of that charge depends on the charge the defendant initially failed to appear for. If the original charge was a misdemeanor, failure to appear is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 maximum fine. Failure to appear for felony charges, on the other hand, is a Class 6 felony for which the maximum applicable prison term may be five years.

A warrant for failure to appear for felony charges will also generally result in the defendant’s bond status being revoked. They might be detained until their trial rather than being able to prepare their defense outside of court. Because of this, it is especially important to seek a skilled attorney’s help quickly following failure to appear allegations in Loudoun County stemming from felony cases.

Resolving Failure To Appear Charges in Loudoun County

The only two things prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt to convict someone on failure to appear charges are that the defendant had proper notice of the court date they missed and that they did in fact miss that court date. Even if someone misses their court date entirely by accident, they could still face substantial legal repercussions.

Often, the best approach is filing a Motion to Vacate the bench warrant, which courts are often amenable to granting when defendants file them in good faith. Retaining a knowledgeable failure to appear lawyer in Loudoun County is a vital first step in pursuing a Motion to Vacate.

Contact a Loudoun County Failure To Appear Attorney For Help

Any time a court summons you to appear and answer criminal charges, it is an order with the full weight of state law behind it. Even if it happens inadvertently, disobeying a court order and missing a court date could have consequences even worse than the initial charge you were supposed to appear for.

Support from a Loudoun County failure to appear lawyer could make a tremendous difference in your prospects of a positive case result. Call the office of Karin Riley Porter today to schedule a meeting.