In most arrest cases in the US where the arrested party is released on bail, a future court date will be set pertaining to the case in question. In many such situations, those being released will have to sign a Promise to Appear form, a legal document issued for certain misdemeanors and federal ordinance violations.

At Beehive Bail Bonds, we can help inform you about all the details of this process as we assist you with 24-hour bail bond services. One important area to be aware of here is that there are real consequences for not attending a court date you were required to be present for. While the courts do their best to be lenient for circumstances that are unavoidable here, you should be working as hard as you can to attend your court date if at all possible. Here are some of the potential consequences if you do not.

Bench Warrant With Discretion

In some cases, you’ll be issued a warrant of arrest by the court that’s known as a bench warrant with discretion. The final couple words in this title are the notable ones here – they mean the warrant will not be sent to the arresting officer until you have been given a chance to appear and get your warrant canceled.

Essentially, this process allows you another opportunity to avoid arrest and failure to appear charges. If you do not, however, the warrant will be fully served and you will become a fugitive.

Bench Warrant Without Discretion

In other cases, and particularly if you’ve had issues of missing court dates in the past or other negatives on your record, the court may opt for the more serious option of issuing a bench warrant without discretion. In this case, you will immediately be charged with failure to appear, a crime, and the warrant will be sent to police to begin attempting to locate you for arrest. From this moment on, you can be arrested and taken into custody by any law officer at any time.

Noted Non-Appearance

In some other cases, particularly if there are legitimate reasons for you missing the date such as child care obligations or similar reasons, the court might note the non-appearance and simply adjourn the matter to a new date. At that point, further action can be taken if you again fail to appear. However, you should never go into a situation expecting this outcome – you should expect to have a warrant issued if you do not appear, and as such should take all the steps you can to ensure you’re able to.

For more on the consequences of not appearing for a court date, or to learn about any of the services our bail bondsmen can provide, speak to the staff at Beehive Bail Bonds today.