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Court date cancelled due to FTA

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deena26

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

OK, so we were supboened by the DA to appear on a case where they were prosecuting a guy who did some felony vandilism to us. We were scheduled to have court & it was cancelled due to him with FTA (next to his name), my question is what happens next? I guess he has a warrant & could be picked up for it. Mainly I'm wondering:
1. Does he automatically become guilty of the crime at some point without a hearing or court case?
2. Would he still be entitled to a trial for this if he gets picked up months or years down the road?
3. Will anyone hear the case or is just swept away until someday when he gets picked up, then would we likely be supboened again?
Thanks for any help, this is all so confusing
 


CdwJava

Senior Member
The case will almost certainly be on hold until the defendant has been brought into custody and appears for court. Yes, you will have to be subpoenaed again.
 

garrula lingua

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

OK, so we were supboened by the DA to appear on a case where they were prosecuting a guy who did some felony vandilism to us. We were scheduled to have court & it was cancelled due to him with FTA (next to his name), my question is what happens next? I guess he has a warrant & could be picked up for it. Mainly I'm wondering:
1. Does he automatically become guilty of the crime at some point without a hearing or court case?
2. Would he still be entitled to a trial for this if he gets picked up months or years down the road?
3. Will anyone hear the case or is just swept away until someday when he gets picked up, then would we likely be supboened again?
Thanks for any help, this is all so confusing
Make note of the case number, his name, and the DA's Office. Save all your receipts (for repair), and pictures of damage. Any evidence you have in your possession, preserve.

Usually, a defendant's case is called in open court, and when he doesn't appear, a Failure to Appear is issued (yes, a warrant).
What type of hearing was this ?
An arraignment, a Preliminary Hearing, a pretrial ??
If he was out on bond, then it's an enhancement/another charge (also, the FTA is a separate charge).
He does have the right to a trial, when he's apprehended (whenever).
Usually, defendants such as he, plead no contest in return for dropping the additional charges....
Just be sure to talk to the Deputy District Attorney (or the Supervising DDA); tell them how much you were requesting in restitution, and could they mark the file to advise you whenever he's apprehended (give them your cell # & a second # & ask them to note it in their file).

He will not 'automatically' or by the passage of time, become guilty - he will have the right to a trial, even 20 years later.
Also, many felony vandalisms get knocked down to misdemeanors (so, ask that your name and cell # be put in file to notify you when he's picked up - they shouldn't reduce charges because you were hard to find).

He'll be picked up when he commits another crime, or when he gets stopped for a traffic violation.
Many vandalisms get knocked down to misdemeanors.
 

deena26

Junior Member
Heres his story:
Night one, he hit my kid, threw a rock through our home window, smashed kids car windshield (lovely), filed police report etc. Woke up the next morning and in the light of day realized our other two cars were keyed to death...Filed a 'supplemental' report- took police a year to acknoweledge the supplemental and I'm pretty sure they are treating it as a seperate case, not due to me trying tirelessly to straighten this out. So 1st case (1st night events), he turned himself in & was released, we were supboened along with our neighbors and the case was dismissed (we never even had an appearance) this is probably due to the fact that my kid was not bruised or seriously hurt- and the charges said battery. So now a year or more has passed, he has not been to jail since (regarding the vandilism charge). Just last week I saw he was picked up for AWDW charges and released the next day, now came our court hearing date and it said FTA. Thanks for the help and advice from both of you. Just wanted to be educated on the process
 

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