Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

I missed court and lost my bond

I missed court today, forfeiting a lot of money.

Driving with license suspened 3rd degree. Planning on pleading guilty, and having the fine paid out of the bond and receiving a refund.

My reason for missing court is basically that so much bad stuff happened this weekend that I lost track of the court date.

The bad stuff: I manage an apartment building, and a worker broke about 2 thousand dollars worth of signage on Friday. Then went to my uncle's house for the weekend because he was dying. He passed away on Saturday, with me and other family members surrounding him. It was very intense and pretty much dominates my thinking even now.

I got up this morning to check when my court date and found out I was already late. I can't drive until the 19th and the court is located about 40 miles away in a rural area. I already asked to have the hearings moved to a closer court but was denied before I could explain why.

Have I basically screwed my self (again)? Could my time doing legal research be beneficial to getting the money back?

I have about 300 dollars of spare money per month, and I borrowed 3000 to pay the last bond. Obviously I can't borrow 5000 now to pay the latest bench warrant. But


Asked on 11/05/07, 3:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James J. White, attorney Law Offices of Smith & White, PLLC

Re: I missed court and lost my bond

Call the court immediately to schedule a warrant quash hearing. You can ask to reinstate the bond. Bring documentation showing why you didn't show up (medical records of uncle, letters from family, invoices for estimates on repairing the signage or pictures of the damage, etc.) As for your transportation problem, you'll have to solve that one.

At your service,

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Answered on 11/05/07, 6:52 pm


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