Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Re: Failure to Appear

Depends upon the circumstances involving the FTA(Failure to Appear). If the judge finds that there are credible mitigating circumstances to account for the defendant's nonappearance on the appointed day and time, he or she may simply dismiss the FTA charge. However, if there is no such good explanation forthcoming from the seemingly remorseful defendant, in addition to the sentence for the underlying charge, the judge may also impose an additional penalty for the FTA.