How Bad Is It If You Fail To Appear In Court?
This week, the Florida Man who is on everyone’s mind is Joseph Malinowski, nicknamed “Lieutenant Dan” after the tough as nails Vietnam War veteran from the movie Forrest Gump. Malinowski achieved fame by staying on his boat during Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, while everyone else scurried for higher ground. Shortly after his image appeared all over the news, he was arrested on a variety of criminal charges, most of them related to his boat’s failure to comply with legal regulations. You do not have to worry about ever facing these criminal charges unless you have a boat that is notable enough to go viral on social media, which you probably do not. One of Malinowski’s charges, however, could happen to anyone, including you. Specifically, Malinowski is facing charges for failure to appear in court in relation to a previous criminal charge for trespassing. If you have been asked to appear in criminal court and are worried about what happens next, contact a West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer.
Missing a Court Appearance Can Quickly Make Your Legal Problems Worse
If the criminal court has ordered you to appear for a scheduled court date, such as a hearing or trial, it is a crime if you don’t appear. In other words, you could get a whole new criminal charge for failure to appear, in addition to your original case. If your original criminal charge was a misdemeanor, then failure to appear is also a misdemeanor, but if the original charge was for a felony, then the failure to appear charge is also a felony, with a maximum sentence of five years in prison. If you fail to appear in court while you are out on bail, the penalties are even more severe. Even if you do not get convicted of your original offense or of failure to appear, the court can revoke your bail or suspend your driver’s license while the case is pending.
Instead of missing a court date and facing criminal penalties, you should reschedule the court date if you know that you will not be able to attend, and you have a legally valid reason for your absence. For example, you have the right to reschedule your court date if you are hospitalized or if one of your immediate family members, namely a spouse, parent, child, or sibling, is in the hospital. You can also reschedule a court date if it conflicts with the funeral of an immediate family member or with another court date. Likewise, incarceration in another jurisdiction is a valid reason to miss a court date, as is unfairly short notice of finding out that you were required to appear in court. No matter the reason, ask your criminal defense lawyer to contact the court to reschedule.
Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today
Attorney William Wallshein has more than 38 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County. Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lieutenant-dan-gained-fame-riding-hurricanes-boat-arrested-florida-rcna176188
