People are busy and often times, for whatever reason, they miss appointments. If you’re in trouble with the law you may be tempted to skip court, hoping that the judge may forget your case. But missing a court date is not something you want to do. So what happens if you fail to appear for court in Michigan?
If you are charged with a crime in Michigan, depending on the severity of the crime, you may be granted bail. Under the conditions of bail, you probably won’t be allowed to leave the state, and you will be required to appear for your court date to go over your case.
Skipping or forgetting about your court case could lead to additional charges and even jail time. A bounty hunter could be sent out to find you.
If you ignore or miss your court date, you could be charged with a failure to appear. This could lead to:
- additional charges.
- a bench warrant being issued for your arrest.
- additional fines.
- an additional year of jail time.
- revoking of your bail and a demand for full payment for the bond.
- the bail bond company sending a bounty hunter out to find you.
- your family and friends being questioned about your whereabouts.
- a less sympathetic judge to your original case.
If you happen to miss your court date due to illness, you’ll need to provide a doctor’s note to avoid further trouble. The same goes for an accident; you’ll have to give the court a police report. You will have to go to court yourself and provide proof to keep your bond active. The court may be sympathetic to your case and reschedule your court date without repercussion.
In Michigan, there is no statute of limitations in failure to appear, so it’s important to keep your court date. If you miss and you’re now faced with additional charges, you’ll need to consult with your attorney right away to help you prevent further legal trouble. You may be considered a flight risk, your bail could be revoked, and you may have to sit in jail until your next court date. Your record will now contain a failure to appear charge. In the end, you’ll have an even bigger problem than before. Get a calendar and write down that court date.
Tags: bail bonds, Bench Warrant, Bounty Hunter, Failure to Appear in Court, Leave State on Bond, Revoke Bail, Skip Bail