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Missed court date

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Seeking Advice

Guest
My brother was recently arrested for OWI while sitting in a parked car in Iowa. His boss (who was the cause of police questioning) agreed to pay for the attorney. A court date was scheduled and his boss told him that he took care of the attorney's retainer fee and that the attorney would attend the first court date. He found out by mail today that the fee was never paid hence the attorney did not go to court for him. Since he did not show up for his court date he does not know what he should do or if he should contact the court or pay his attorney and have him do it. Any advice concerning this would be greatly appreciated.
 


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Tracey

Guest
He needs to talk to an attorney soon. He may have had a duty to show up whether he had an attorney or not.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.
 
A NO-SHOW in WI court is as good as being guilty of the charge(s). I do not know how other states classify it. I thought all states would be the same.
 
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Tracey

Guest
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by [email protected]:
A NO-SHOW in WI court is as good as being guilty of the charge(s). I do not know how other states classify it. I thought all states would be the same. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That used to be the rule. However, the Supreme Court case of Brown v. somebody declared that criminal trials in absentia were unconstitutional, even if the defendant intentionally missed his trial date. This rule applies to all states. Unless OWI is a mere civil infraction, the court can't enter a guilty verdict for a no show. It can, however, revoke or deny bail until trial.



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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.
 

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