As we are all aware because of the shut in rules due to the Pandemic most personal appearance court actions have been curtailed.

How ever it is a good idea to call the court and find out if you are still on calendar and learn what you need to do as far as rescheduling.

DO NOT MISS A COURT DATE NOW and TRY TO FIX IT LATER

If You Need Help With This. Give Us A Call. 901-523-2245

Have You Missed Court? Follow These Steps Now!

When bail is posted, you are required to follow the rules that the courts lay out for you. Unless you have otherwise been instructed by the courts or your lawyer, you are required to attend all of your court hearings. If you know that you will be unable to attend one day, it is important to contact your attorney and ask them to reschedule the court date. They may be able to reschedule the court date if you are sick, have an important doctors appointment or have some other extenuating circumstance. Unfortunately though, despite your best efforts, there may come a time where you forget you have court, oversleep or encounter car troubles and don’t make it in time. Here are the steps that you need to immediately follow if you have missed a Las Vegas court date while out on bail.

Contact Your Attorney or Public Defender

As soon as you realize that you have missed court, it is important to get in touch with your attorney or your public defender. If you are being represented by a public defender in Shelby County, you can contact the public defenders’ office at 901-523-2245. They can then get you in touch with someone who can assist you.

Once you contact your attorney or public defender, they can help you in a couple of different ways. Depending on the situation and circumstances, they may be able to get a stay placed on the warrant. Once you have failed to show up for court, a bench warrant for failing to appear is issued for your arrest. Placing a stay on the warrant basically means that the warrant is placed on hold until your next scheduled court date. If you show up, the warrant is quashed, or revoked. If you fail to show up, the stayed warrant is active again. If your attorney cannot get the warrant stayed, they can work to place your case on calendar for as quickly as possible. This helps to minimize the chances that you will be picked up by the police, and gives you the opportunity to show the courts that you can show up for court on your own. During the hearing, a judge will decide whether to quash the bench warrant or whether to revoke your bond and take you into custody.

Contact Your Bail Bonds Company

After you have contacted your attorney or public defender, the next person you will want to get in touch with is your bail bonds company. If a warrant has been issued because you failed to show up for court, your bail bonds company will be notified. When this happens, the bail bond company can send a bounty hunter out to pick you up and take you to jail. However, most will not do so if you call them and let them know that you are handling the situation. If you have another court hearing already scheduled, most will give you the opportunity to show up for court on your own accord.

Show Up For Your Next Court Dates

The last thing you need to do after you miss a court date is show up for all of your upcoming hearings. If you have already missed court, it is even more important to show up. If you miss court repeatedly, can decide that you are a flight risk or you are not taking being out on bail seriously. If the judge thinks you are abusing this privilege, they can increase your bail amount each time you fail to show up for court, or revoke your bond altogether, causing you to have to sit in jail until your trial. Additionally, if you miss court, your bail bonds company can also decide to revoke the bond. If this happens, you will not get any of the fees you paid with the bail bonds agency returned, and you may have trouble finding another company to post bond on your behalf.

Missing bail can cause your bail to be rescinded or increased. This is why it is so important to show up for court when you are out on bail.