When you have been charged with a crime, you must appear in court if a judge orders you to do so. This might be for a preliminary hearing or even your trial. Failing to show up at court can lead to serious consequences, including incarceration.
If you missed court, a dedicated defense attorney could help you resolve the situation and potentially avoid additional charges. Our Cranberry Township failure to appear lawyer could discuss your case with you and explain your alternatives to pleading guilty. All of our lawyers are former prosecutors and, therefore, are uniquely well equipped to defend criminal cases.
During your criminal case, numerous situations could require you to appear in court. While there are ways to cancel or continue settings in some instances, you generally must attend court any time your case is on the docket. This includes your preliminary hearings, motion hearings, summary judgment proceedings, and trial.
While you are generally required to appear at each of these proceedings, there is an exception that allows you to miss them. An attorney you hire could appear on your behalf at many of them. This could be especially helpful with status hearings if your case has been in the court system for a long time. Your lawyer could also continue hearings or eliminate the need for them by resolving matters beforehand. The attorneys in our Cranberry Township office may be able to help you avoid a failure to appear charge altogether.
Our Cranberry Township attorneys could help you no matter why you missed your scheduled court appearance. This is true whether you had a valid reason for missing court or whether failing to appear was a mistake.
There are times when missing court is unavoidable. While it is always a good idea to notify the court that you cannot attend a scheduled proceeding, it is inevitable that you might sometimes be unable to do so.
Some reasons that could justify your missing a court date are that you had a medical emergency or were already incarcerated in another jurisdiction. In these situations, our attorneys could file a motion with the court explaining your absence. This is often enough to have bench warrants lifted or vacated and help avoid any jail time for clients who miss a court date.
Even if your absence was not justified, our lawyers may be able to help you resolve the situation. You are entitled to a vigorous defense, just as you are with any other criminal charge, and the right approach could be the difference between sitting in jail or being free while fighting your case.
The consequences for being convicted of failure to appear could include fines, incarceration, probation, and other penalties. As our Cranberry Township attorneys could explain in greater detail, these charges are separate from your underlying offense, which means you face additional legal jeopardy if you miss a court date. Thankfully, you have the right to defend yourself and potentially avoid these consequences.
If you missed a court date, it is vital to be proactive about rectifying the situation. It may be possible to show a judge that missing court was outside of your control. Even if it was your fault, our team could help you defend yourself. Call today to request a free consultation with our Cranberry Township failure to appear lawyer.