Excuses for failure to appear in court: What will and won’t convince the judge?

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If you miss a mandatory court date, a bench warrant will likely be issued. This means you can detained and brought to court for a hearing on why you failed to appear.

If you cannot justify your absence, then you can also be charged with failure to appear. However, if you have a good excuse for your absence, then the judge may not impose any penalties.

7 good excuses for missing a court date

There are several legitimate excuses for missing a required court date. 7 of them are:

1. you were never notified of the court date,
2. you did not make a written promise to appear,
3. you had a medical emergency,
4. you were involved in a car accident or your car broke down on your way to court,
5. there was a serious family crisis or emergency,
6. the court made a scheduling error, and
7. your lawyer withdrew from your case at the last minute.

“Remember that when you miss a required court appearance, it wastes the time of everyone in the justice system – from the judge to the court staff to the prosecutor. The only good excuses for missing a court date involve serious problems that were out of your control and there was no way for you to notify the court clerk any time sooner.” – criminal defense lawyer Neil Shouse

1. You were not notified

You cannot appear in court if you were never notified of your court date. The court is responsible for sending you a notification of when and where to appear. If they fail to do this, you may be left unaware of your obligation to show up.

The criminal defense attorneys at our law firm have found that this is probably the strongest excuse for a missed court appearance.

Note that this is not a valid excuse if you were responsible for the lack of notification. This can happen if you either:

• gave the court the wrong contact information, or
• changed your address but failed to tell the court or arrange to have your mail forwarded.

If you hear about your court date from some other source, like your lawyer, deliberately skipping the hearing and then claiming that you were not notified of it can backfire.

2. You never promised to appear

Many criminal defendants who are accused of minor offenses are released on their own recognizance. This means they are let go on the written promise that they will show up at their next court hearing.

If you did not sign this agreement to appear, then you do not have a legal obligation to show up.

3. You had a medical emergency

Courts will generally look past your failure to appear if it was due to an unforeseen and serious medical issue. Some examples of medical emergencies that could excuse a failure to appear are:

• strokes,
• heart attacks,
• concussions, and
• other medical problems that require emergency room care.

Note, though, that these are emergencies. If you had a surgery, even a serious one, scheduled for your court date and did not notify the court clerk, your judge will ask why you did not tell anyone.

Keep any medical bills that the emergency produced. They can back up your claims.

4. You had car trouble on your way

If you got into a car accident or had car trouble on your way to court and can no longer make it there on time, you should call the court right away and tell them. Make sure that there are no alternative means for getting to court on time before using this as an excuse. If you could have gotten to court using public transportation or a taxi, then this excuse is much weaker.

Keep the police report of the accident or the mechanic’s bill for your car repair. They can help you prove that your transportation issues were legitimate.

5. A serious family emergency

A serious family emergency can also excuse a missed court date. Potential examples could be if an immediate family member:

• dies, or
• needs immediate medical attention.

Keep any documents that could be used to prove that the incident happened.

6. The court made a mistake

If the court made a mistake then your absence would not be your fault. Some mistakes include:

• telling you to appear on the wrong day or time,
• sending you to the wrong courthouse, or
• wrongly informing you that you are not legally required to be present.

Make sure you keep the document with the incorrect information.

If the court tells you to appear at an incorrect date or time that happens before your actual hearing, this does not excuse your failure to appear at the correct time. This can be inconvenient, but it is not an excuse to skip your hearing.

7. Your lawyer withdrew

If you have legal representation and your lawyer withdraws from your case right before the hearing, it can justify your absence. The court will generally push your court date back so you can find a new lawyer.

Make sure you call the court as soon as you learn that your lawyer has withdrawn.

14 bad excuses

There are lots of bad excuses for missing a court date. 14 of them are that you:

1. did not feel like going,
2. think that you are innocent,
3. just want the case to go away,
4. could not get time off from work,
5. decided to spend the time with your friends or family,
6. were too busy,
7. did not think the hearing was important,
8. think that the court does not have jurisdiction over you,
9. forgot about the court date,
10. overslept,
11. deliberately missed court in order to waste everyone’s time,
12. are trying to avoid accountability,
13. had a prior commitment and chose to honor that one, and
14. gave the court the wrong contact information or failed to update it, and that caused you to miss the notification.

Some of these may seem like valid reasons to you. The court will almost certainly disagree.

What happens after missing court

When you miss a court date, the judge will likely issue a bench warrant. Law enforcement officers or bondsmen will find you, detain you, and bring you to court. A hearing will be held over why you were absent.

If the judge decides that you have an acceptable excuse, the warrant will be quashed. The court date will be rescheduled.

If the judge does not agree with your excuse, he or she can hold you in contempt of court. You may be fined or even jailed. The court date will be rescheduled. There may also be other serious consequences and legal issues, like:

• having your bail revoked or increased, if you had been released on bail for the original charge,
• your judge being more willing to impose higher sanctions against you,
• a tarnished credibility, which can make the judge less likely to believe what you say in court,
• a driver’s license suspension, if the hearing that you missed was over traffic tickets, and
• difficulties getting bail in future criminal cases, as you are seen as more of a flight risk.

Finally, the prosecutor may charge you with failure to appear.

Penalties for failure to appear

Failure to appear (FTA) is the crime of not being present in person for a court appearance after:

• being ordered to appear by the court, such as through a subpoena, or
• agreeing to appear in court on your own recognizance.

If you have been charged with a crime and miss a required court hearing, you could face an additional charge for failure to appear. This is on top of the underlying criminal offense.

The penalties for failing to appear generally depend on the nature of the missed court date. For example, in California, if you are a criminal defendant and miss a court appearance you would face up to:

• 6 months of jail time, if the underlying criminal charge was a misdemeanor, or
• 3 years in prison, if it was a felony charge. [1]

Legal Citations:

[1] California Penal Code 1320 PC.