Legal Question in Criminal Law in Arizona

My 19 year old daughter was charged 2 years ago with "minor in consumption" of alcohol. A court date was on the summons. We attended court, the court had no paperwork, we had the summons stamped to prove were there and heard nothing until this week when it was learned a bench warrant was issued for failure to appear. Shouldn't the case have been dropped since we were there and the state did not have any paperwork?


Asked on 3/19/14, 4:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Ashley Grimes Grimes Law PLLC

Due to the oddity in your case...I would recommend seeing an attorney. They can issue a warrant for failure to appear if you did not appear. However, it seems you did appear and have evidence to prove so. You could get the warrant squashed and also there are relevant rules about prosecuting a charge and time to do so. It all depends on when the charge was officially placed against your daughter and how much time has passed since the date of the charging document. The prosecuting attorney must follow due process rules and prosecute the case in accordance with the laws of Arizona. There is a time frame in which they must do so. I would suggest contacting an attorney to fully evaluate the evidence in your case and to assist you with further action. I hope this information helps.

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Answered on 4/25/14, 8:42 pm


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