Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: miss my court date

If you missed your court date, there may be a warrant out for your arrest. Relax, though. The warrant is simply to get you into court to answer to the charges. If you show up on your own to take care of it, the court will be courteous and not fault you. They won't arrest you for being in court taking care of a matter that a warrant was for. But they may fine you a modest amount to pay for the warrant. Then, you take care of the charges and go on with your life. Good Luck.

Re: miss my court date

what will the penalties be if I went to court to take care of it? Is there a chance I might have to serve time?

It is impossible to predict with any accuracy what will happen to you as a result of this case and your missing your court appearance, but one thing is certain: a warrant has been issued for your arrest, and you can be arrested on it if you are stopped by the cops for any reason including traffic matters or even jaywalking. And, the longer it takes you to clear up the matter, generally, the worse it will be. So, you should plan to take care of it in the near future. How that occurs is the only question remaining, and there are many ways to approach it. Probably the best idea would be to have a criminal lawyer handle it for you. After a thorough discussion of YOUR particular circumstances, a strategy can be established that will allow you to get this matter behind you with as little consequence as possible. If you have no prior convictions, and only drug paraphernalia was involved, it's very possible to avoid a jail term altogether, but it depends on many things I don't know right now. If you'd like to have a free consultation with me, I'd be happy to meet with you. Please don't hesitate to call me. Steve Mandell 310 393 0639

Re: miss my court date

Your first issue is the 'failure to appear' arrest warrant currently outstanding, which has to be dealt with by plea negotiation that could result in some jail time, but probably not - a fine is more likely.

The second issue is the original charge, which then has to be dealt with at the same time, and which could require some jail time in circumstances like yours. Regardless of what you would like, you either work this out through your attorney now, or suffer much harsher penalty if they catch and arrest you. A lawyer may be able to use your facts and circumstances to minimize or avoid jail time. Contact me if interested in doing so.

Re: miss my court date

I can appear on your behalf if you wish to avoid the stress. I will also likely to be able to have one of the charges reduced or struck, i.e., failure to appear is another misdemeanor. Call me directly at (619) 222-3504.

Re: miss my court date

Your max penalty for failure to appear at a court date is the max on the charge you were convicted of. However, it sounds like you were only arrested and not convicted. In this case, they could file a misdemeanor failure to appear in addition to the original charge(s).

You should get a lawyer to go into court to recall and quash the warrant. You should be able to qualify for diversion or Prop. 36 and get treatment instead of jail, and hopefully get the new Failure to Appear dismissed.