Consequences for Failing to Appear on Your Scheduled Court Date
Many traffic citations require you to show up at court for a hearing, but what happens if you miss your scheduled date? The experienced Raleigh traffic ticket lawyers at Sandman,Finn and Fitzhugh are breaking down what it means when you have a Failure to Appear for a traffic ticket hearing and how you can get back into the court’s good graces.
How Do You Receive a “Failure to Appear?”
When you are scheduled to go to court for a traffic violation and you miss that appointment, your case will be marked “called and failed.” Missing a court date for a criminal misdemeanor, like a traffic violation, or a felony, is a serious offense in North Carolina. It can result in having an immediate warrant issued for your arrest and substantial fines.
Fortunately, failing to appear for a court date for a traffic ticket generally doesn’t have such severe penalties. However, if a DWI is involved, reckless driving, or driving with a suspended or revoked license, you may be facing stiff penalties and, perhaps, jail time.
Typically, if you miss your scheduled court date for your driving violation, you have 20 days to contact the Wake County clerk’s office where you received the citation so you can reschedule. After 20 days, a Failure to Appear will be issued against you.
Once an FTA is issued, two things occur immediately:
- A $200 failure-to-appear fee (often called the “FTA fee”) is charged. This fee is in addition to the fine for your traffic citation.
- The court clerk reports your FTA to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, which then alerts you that your driver’s license is being revoked if the court hearing is not resolved.
Which Traffic Citations Require a Court Appearance
- Driving on a revoked or suspended license
- DWI or driving with an open container of alcohol after drinking
- Reckless or aggressive driving
- Speeding by 15 miles per hour or more while also driving above 55 mph
- Passing a stopped school bus
- Driving without the state minimum coverage of auto insurance
What Can I Do if I Missed My Court Date?
If you miss your court date, you may be able to reschedule your case for a new court date with the clerk of court’s office, particularly if no order for your arrest was issued. If a Failure to Appear is issued, in some cases, a judge can “strike” the Failure to Appear and give you a new court date.
If it’s been longer than 20 days, you should reach out to an experienced traffic violation lawyer, like Sandman, Finn, and Fitzhugh, who will help you with these challenges. Rather than paying the original traffic citation, plus late fees, court costs, and license restoration fees, which can add up to hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, the right attorney will work to get the FTA dismissed against you so you won’t have to pay the late fees or license restoration fees as well as work to get the initial traffic ticket dismissed or reduced to a minor violation.
Contact Our Traffic Violation Lawyers Today for a Failure to Appear
Instead of having to go back to court, pay traffic tickets, plus all the fees required to get your license reinstated, the traffic violation lawyers at Sandman, Finn, and Fitzhugh can help you navigate the process much more easily so you can get your license restored and move forward. Contact us for a free consultation by calling (919) 845-6688 or filling out the contact form to get started.
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