How do I clear a "failure to appear" and avoid jail?

Описание: Criminal defense attorney Neil Shouse explains what to do if you have a warrant for your arrest because of a failure to appear in court.

More info at https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/... and https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/... and https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/...

or call (855) 999-7755 for a free consultation.

A failure to appear in court, abbreviated "FTA", happens in 3 scenarios in California law: either you signed a written document promising to appear in court (such as a traffic ticket) and did not appear, you were issued a subpoena to appear in court and you did not show up, or a judge verbally told you to appear in court and you never appeared.

In these scenarios a warrant would be issued for your arrest, often this is a bench warrant coming from the judge themselves. After this warrant has been issued, in some cases the police or a bail bonds company, or a bounty hunter, may track you down and bring you into court or jail in handcuffs. In other cases the police may not actively come looking for you, but if you get pulled over by police for a traffic violation, then the police will check if you have any warrants, and they will place you under arrest until the matter is taken care of in court.

Instead of waiting until the police find you, our attorneys advise that you take the matter into your own hands and go into court to plead your case. Most judges have a police of "if you walk in, you walk out", meaning defendants who appear in front of the judge to take care of their warrants, will not normally be sentenced to any jail time. You can go into court without an attorney, but it's always best to have an attorney with you when you go into court. And sometimes it's even possible for your attorney to make the court appearance for you, without you even having to appear.

If you or a loved one is charged with a crime we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We can provide a free consultation in office or by phone. We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and throughout California.