Missed Court date

Missed Court date

Question: What can I do if I miss my court date for DUI in Van Nuys, CA?  My court date was a while back.  I new I had the court date coming up but I was really nervous about and was sick on the day of the hearing.  Now a few months has gone by and I am thinking about this issue constantly.  I want to deal with it but want to have it go as good as possible.  Is this something you can help with?
Answer: Generally speaking in situations like yours it is best to deal with failure to appears (ie. missing court dates) as soon as possible.  If you were arrested for a DUI with a court date in Van Nuys, assuming it was a misdemeanor and not a felony DUI, your arraignment would be in Dept. 103.  If you miss a misdemeanor or felony arraignment date in Van Nuys court (and most if not all other courts in Los Angeles and surrounding counties) the Court will generally issue a bench warrant for your arrest.  In some areas the police/sheriff’s dept will actively look for you to arrest you on the warrant (ie. go to your house on the warrant).  In other areas they may not go to your house depending on how busy they are, but if you get stopped by an officer they will likely see that there is a warrant and potentially take you into custody at that time, even if you are subsequently stopped for a minor traffic infraction.
The bench warrant needs to be recalled as soon as possible to avoid future issues.  Hiring an attorney to handle this and the underlying charge(s) is recommended.  I regularly handle clients cases who have warrants issued for failure to appear and I would be happy to help you with this.   Call me to discuss further as I am in Van Nuys Court regularly handling DUI and FTA (failure to appears) cases.
Sincerely,
DUI & Criminal Defense Attorney Phil Hache