Missed court date, but no warrant. yet...

[alteredmemory]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hello, I'm 17 years old. In November I was arrest for possession of marijuana under 2oz. (I had no prior arrests) and after going to county over night I posted bail (300$). I was then ordered to appear at the county court house in order to get a future court date. I consulted with an attorney (he was a family friend and offered his services to me at a reduced rate, very nice guy overall), complied, and was given a court date for my arraignment/pre-trial. When given the court date I was told it would be the 4th of January (today). However, it seems that I don't have a very discerning eye, because if I had looked a bit more carefully at the date I would have noticed the month was December. How in the world this happened is beyond me, especially since I looked over the document detailing my court date on more than one occasion (and no, I was not stoned). On top of this, I was going to court in order to reschedule the pre-trial, since my attorney was out of town. After waiting patiently for 3 hours I realized the court I was assigned to was not going to open, so I looked over my papers very methodically and discovered, to my surprise, that I had the wrong date. So I called my attorney's secretary and she told me to stop by. When I did she looked up my file and confirmed that I had indeed misread/heard the date. However, she also told me that at the moment, I did not have a warrant for my arrest (but that it might be processing). Eventually I talked with my attorney over the phone and he told me to wait until he returned on Monday before taking any course of action...

So I'm wondering, what effect do you think this might have on my case? My attorney had previously told me it was very likely that I would be given the option of PTD, or pre-trial diversion, essentially dismissing the case upon completion of the program. But after this? And what do you think he will have me do, in respect to having missed my court date? He mentioned we would probably negotiate my surrender in order to avoid arrest, but he said he was not sure. In passing he also said it was very odd that even after a month there was no warrant, even with the Holidays and processing time. He was conducting private matters at the time, so he was not able to elaborate further. I'm worried what might happen in the 3 days till he returns. Additionally, does this mean I will lose all my bond money??? And when would it have been returned to me anyways?

Thank you for any help or replies.

[seniorjudge]

Q: So I'm wondering, what effect do you think this might have on my case?

A: After a failure to appear, everyone in the court system cools toward helping you.

[alteredmemory]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

A: After a failure to appear, everyone in the court system cools toward helping you.

In your opinion, do I still have a chance of getting PTD? And if not, do you believe the prosecution will push for a trial?

[seniorjudge]

Q: In your opinion, do I still have a chance of getting PTD?

A: The prosecutor has probably lost interest in working with you.



Q: And if not, do you believe the prosecution will push for a trial?

A: The prosecution does not push or pull for trials. The defendant decides if there is to be a trial.

[alteredmemory]

No plea bargain then, I guess that's what I was trying to say... Thanks for the help, if that's the case though, would you have any insight about my other questions?

[seniorjudge]

Standard answer

Here are some hints on appearing in court:

Dress professionally in clean clothes.

Do not wear message shirts.

Don't chew gum, smoke, or eat. (Smokers...pot or tobacco...literally stink. Remember that before you head for court.)

Bathe and wash your hair.

Do not bring small children or your friends.

Go to court beforehand some day before you actually have to go to watch how things go.

Speak politely and deferentially. If you argue or dispute something, do it professionally and without emotion.

Ask the court clerk who you talk to about a diversion (meaning you want to plead to a different, lesser charge), if applicable in your situation. Ask about traffic school and that the ticket not go on your record, if applicable. Ask also about getting a hardship driving permit, if applicable. Ask about drug court, if applicable.

From marbol:

“Judge...

You forgot the one thing that I've seen that seems to frizz up most judges these days:

If you have a cell phone, make DAMN SURE that it doesn't make ANY noise in the courtroom. This means when you are talking to the judge AND when you are simply sitting in the court room.

If you have a ‘vibrate’ position on your cell phone, MAKE sure the judge DOESN'T EVEN HEAR IT VIBRATE!

Turn it off or put it in silent mode where it flashes a LED if it rings. AND DON'T even DREAM about answering it if it rings.”

(Better yet, don’t carry your cell phone into the courtroom.)”


Here are six stories that criminal court judges hear the most (and I suggest you do not use them or variations of them):

1. I’ve been saved! (This is not religion specific; folks from all kinds of religious backgrounds use this one.)

2. My girlfriend/mother/sister/daughter/wife/ex-wife/niece/grandma/grand-daughter is pregnant/sick/dying/dead/crippled/crazy and needs my help.

3. I’ve got a job/military posting in [name a place five hundred miles away].

4. This is the first time I ever did this. (This conflicts with number 5 below, but that hasn’t stopped some defendants from using both.)

5. You’ve got the wrong guy. (A variation of this one is the phantom defendant story: “It wasn’t me driving, it was a hitchhiker I picked up. He wrecked the car, drug me behind the wheel then took off.” Or, another variation: “I was forced into it by a bad guy!”)

6. I was influenced by a bad crowd.

[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?p=854687#post854687[/url]

Public defender’s advice

[url]http://newyork.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/70300494.html[/url]


Other people may give you other advice; stand by.