If you have received a ticket for a traffic violation or have been released on bail or bond after an arrest, you are will be required to appear in court on an appointed date. If you fail to appear in court as scheduled in New Jersey, you may be arrested and jailed, and punished by fines and revocation of your driver’s license. If you face serious criminal charges, you can expect to be held until your rescheduled court date.
After missing a court date, the best thing you can do to help yourself is to hire a criminal defense lawyer to represent you. In New Jersey, the Law Office of Jason A. Volet can help you develop a defense to the charges you are facing and address the issue of a missed court appearance.
Attorney Jason Volet is a former prosecutor in New Jersey courts. Since becoming a criminal defense attorney more than 15 years ago, he has helped many clients resolve criminal charges with the least impact on their lives. Contact the law offices of Jason Volet today to learn how he can protect your rights. Call or fill out our online contact form now.
New Jersey Law and Failure to Appear in Court
Failure to appear in court to address an offense of any kind complicates your legal problems. You may be reprimanded by the judge, arrested, and fined. You may lose your driver’s license. Having a failure to appear on your record will weigh against granting you bail if you are arrested in the future. When you do appear in court, you will be on the judge’s bad side for having previously wasted the court’s time and resources.
New Jersey Court Rule 7:8-9 says that upon any defendant’s failure to appear in court, the judge may issue a bench warrant or an order for the defendant’s arrest. A defendant arrested on a bench warrant for failure to appear is normally jailed until bail is posted.
In any case of failure to appear, the court may fine the defendant up to $100 for consequences of magnitude or up to $25 for parking offenses and $50 for all other matters. When weighing a fine, the judge is to consider:
- The defendant’s history of failure to appear
- The defendant’s criminal and offense history
- The seriousness of the offense
- The resulting inconvenience to the defendant’s adversary and to witnesses in the case.
The consequences for failure to appear in court differ in New Jersey Municipal Court, which handles traffic and parking tickets and violations of local ordinances, and in New Jersey Superior Court, which hears indictable criminal offenses.
Traffic Tickets. New Jersey Municipal Court judges have the option of issuing a bench warrant for the arrest of a defendant who has failed to appear in court for a traffic ticket or mailing the defendant a failure to appear notice with a reminder with a new court date. It’s more likely they’ll send a reminder, but the court can and likely will issue a bench warrant for a second failure to appear.
If the court doesn’t issue a bench warrant for failure to respond to a parking ticket, the New Jersey code says the court shall report it to the Motor Vehicle Commission, which can suspend the defendant’s driver’s license. Even if the court issues a warrant, it can also have the defendant’s license suspended. A suspension remains in effect until the outstanding traffic ticket is resolved.
Parking Tickets. The municipal court must send the defendant a failure to appear notice for failing to show up for court on a parking ticket. Even for failure to appear for a parking ticket, the court may have the Motor Vehicle Commission suspend the defendant’s drivers’ license until the matter is resolved.
Other Municipal Offenses. For violations of minor municipal ordinances, New Jersey law allows cases to proceed even without a defendant’s appearance. If a defendant fails to appear after being notified of a missed court date, the judge may hear and rule on the case. With no one but the prosecutor addressing the charges, a guilty verdict is a certainty.
Superior Court Criminal Cases. In addition to issuing a bench warrant for failure to appear and a fine, a New Jersey Superior Court judge may order the defendant’s driver’s license suspension and any bail or bond posted to be forfeited.
A defendant who repeatedly fails to appear in Superior Court for an indictable offense without a valid reason may be charged with bail jumping (NJ Rev Stat § 2C:29-7), which is a third-degree offense punishable by 3 to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. A bail jumping charge may also be prosecuted for repeated failure to appear for lesser charges.
How to Beat a Failure to Appear in Court in New Jersey
It is very much up to you to show why you should not be punished for failure to appear in court. A judge may find you guilty if he or she finds that there is sufficient evidence you had proper notice of the trial date and you intentionally did not come to court.
However, you may escape punishment if you can present witness testimony or a valid excuse for failing to appear in court, such as:
- Not being notified of the court date and time
- A previously scheduled court appearance
- Being hospitalized or incapacitated by a serious accident or illness
- A death in your family
What Excuses Will Not Work to Beat a Failure to Appear in Court In New Jersey?
Based on our experience representing many defendants, we can assure you that you will not succeed by telling the judge:
- You forgot
- You had to work
- You were stuck in traffic
- Your car broke down
- You moved and forgot to notify the court of your address change.
While New Jersey courts are conducting most matters remotely due to COVID-19, court cases are proceeding. Judges can schedule in-person proceedings if the facts and circumstances in a case warrant it. If you have received a ticket or summons to appear in court, you should make arrangements to appear or speak to an attorney about the circumstances that prevent you from attending court.
Contact a New Jersey Defense Attorney
Regardless of the circumstances, you should ask an attorney to assist you if you have missed a court date in New Jersey or you anticipate being unable to attend court as ordered. The Law Office of Jason Volet in Freehold and Neptune, NJ, can advise you, and help you resolve penalties related to a failure to appear in court.
Fill out our online form or call us to speak to an experienced New Jersey criminal defense lawyer at our law firm about your case now.
