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Although court hearings are rarely scheduled for your convenience, ensuring that you are present at court hearings can be crucial. Failing to appear in court as ordered can lead to additional criminal charges and enhanced penalties for existing charges. If you have failed to appear in court or need to miss an upcoming court date, you may want to contact an experienced Fort Oglethorpe failure to appear lawyer right away. Enlisting the help of a criminal lawyer may be the most effective way to handle a missed court appearance.
The consequences that individuals may face for failing to appear in court often depend on the specific court in which they failed to appear and the reason for the scheduled court date. As a result, the penalties that individuals may face for failing to appear on a minor traffic or misdemeanor offense may differ from those for failing to appear for a hearing in a felony case.
In many cases, failure to appear in court will result in the judge issuing an arrest warrant. If individuals have outstanding warrants for failure to appear, however, they should not lose all hope. Depending on the circumstances, they still may be able to contact a failure to appear lawyer in Fort Oglethorpe and resolve the matter.
If the missed hearing concerns a serious criminal misdemeanor or felony charge, the judge is likely to issue a bench warrant. Once bench warrants are active, individuals can expect to be arrested on those warrants at any time. While a few judges may be willing to allow individuals who have failed to appear to come into court before being arrested on their warrants and resolve the matter, most judges will not allow this type of resolution.
In most cases, individuals can expect to be arrested, so arranging to turn themselves in rather than risk arrest in front of their family members or coworkers may be wise. Once arrested, individuals may remain in jail indefinitely and may be unable to post bail. They may not be released until the judge reschedules the missed hearing or, in some cases, until the trial date.
An arrest on a bench warrant for failure to appear can have collateral consequences on the lives of individuals that go beyond the loss of freedom. Individuals may lose their jobs and be unable to pay bills or support their families. Calling a failure to appear attorney in Fort Oglethorpe for guidance in this situation may enable individuals to work toward a better outcome in their cases.
Furthermore, if individuals are already on probation, they may violate the terms and conditions of their probation if they fail to appear in court as ordered. A probation violation can result in a jail or prison sentence instead of remaining on probation, fines, mandatory community service hours, and more restrictive probation terms.
If people fail to appear in court for traffic violations, they also may risk a suspension of their driving privileges. Loss of their licenses can lead to even more significant financial hardship for those who fail to appear in court.
Although appearing in court before a judge can be a stressful experience that resulted in unwanted consequences, failing to appear in court is not likely to improve your case. You risk more adverse repercussions of an already negative situation by failing to appear according to the court order. Getting the help of a Fort Oglethorpe failure to appear lawyer may be useful to you. Call today.