Indirect contempt of court may mean that you had a legitimate reason for missing the court date or an outside error that prevented your attendance. If this happens, the court must send you a notice and schedule an opportunity to explain your situation to the judge.
Direct contempt of court means that you purposefully avoided attending your hearing or court appointment. In these cases, you could be punished without a trial.
Civil contempt charges apply to those who refuse to obey a court order but eventually perform the required action. If the individual finally agrees to obey the court, the contempt charges may be dropped. Criminal contempt charges apply to direct interference with court proceedings or violation of a court order. This may happen if someone misses their court date to speak with a witness in the case against them or if they violate their probation. Criminal contempt is unconditional and definite, meaning the court will proceed with punishment.
Categories Probation Warrant. Related Posts. Probation Warrants in Miami Jul 08 Violating probation is easier than you might think, and it can get you into a sticky situation. You should contact my office immediately to prepare to remove a bench warrant or answer to a contempt charge.
Walking into court alone or waiting until you get arrested could make matters worse for you. The judge could detain you or set a higher bond than previously posted if you go to court without a lawyer by your side. Waiting until you get picked up is highly problematic. You have a lesser chance of successfully arguing against a failure to appear charge if you wait.
I can help you gather evidence that shows the judge you made an honest mistake or were incapacitated and could not come to court. I limit my practice to misdemeanors and traffic defense so I can help you achieve a favorable result. Call me, Andrew Flusche , attorney at law, today at to get the help you need. Andrew Flusche is a traffic and misdemeanor lawyer in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Andrew earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and then opened his practice in If you need help and want to get started on your case reach out and ask Andrew a question about your charge.
Rate this Post. Again, you will be held pending the final outcome of your case unless your attorney is able to get you out. Crucially, if you are out of jail awaiting your trial date or sentencing, failure to appear can also lead to fines and prison time.
The penalties for failure to appear under Section are in addition to any penalties you may face as a result of your felony or misdemeanor conviction. In fact, even if you are not ultimately convicted of the crime for which you were required to appear in court, you could still potentially face prison time under Section as a result of your failure to appear.
After missing a court date, you will need to do everything you can to mitigate the consequences. If you have a valid reason for failing to appear, this could help you avoid fines, jail time, and a conviction. For example, if you were unaware of your court date, this could be your best defense. If you had an emergency, the judge may show some leniency in this scenario as well.
With that said, even if you are facing an emergency, you should still do everything you can to notify the court in advance. If you had an opportunity to call the court or your attorney and chose not to do so, this will not work in your favor. You need to make plans to be at the courthouse early, and you need to prioritize your obligation to appear over anything else you might have going on. So, you missed a court date. What now? At this point, you need to find out what happened in court in your absence.
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