Virginia Law on Failure to Appear: Va. Code 19.2-128
What is Failure to Appear in Virginia?
In Virginia, you can be criminally charged with Failure to Appear (“FTA”) when you fail to appear for your court date. In addition to being charged with Failure to Appear, the judge may issue a capias warrant, which is a bench warrant for your arrest. Once you are arrested or turn yourself in for the capias, you will then face your original charges (on which you missed the court date) and the new Failure to Appear charge.
This means that even if you can successfully defend against your original charges, you still face criminal risk from the FTA.
Virginia statute covers Failure to Appear in Va. Code § 19.2-128:
A. Whoever, having been released pursuant to this chapter or § 19.2-319 or on a summons pursuant to § 19.2-73 or § 19.2-74, willfully fails to appear before any court or judicial officer as required, shall, after notice to all interested parties, incur a forfeiture of any security which may have been given or pledged for his release, unless one of the parties can show good cause for excusing the absence, or unless the court, in its sound discretion, shall determine that neither the interests of justice nor the power of the court to conduct orderly proceedings will be served by such forfeiture.
B. Any person (i) charged with a felony offense or (ii) convicted of a felony offense and execution of sentence is suspended pursuant to § 19.2-319 who willfully fails to appear before any court as required shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.
C. Any person (i) charged with a misdemeanor offense or (ii) convicted of a misdemeanor offense and execution of sentence is suspended pursuant to § 19.2-319 who willfully fails to appear before any court as required shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Why am I being charged with a probation violation as well?
If you fail to appear for your court dates, you may forfeit your release bond and you can be charged with a violation of your probation. As a result of this, you can have your suspended sentence from any prior charges revoked. The judge has the option to also cite you for contempt of court and this carries a fine punishable with up to 10 days in jail.
How is a Failure to Appear punished in Virginia?
If your underlying court date that you missed was for a misdemeanor crime, your failure to appear charge will also be a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor failure to appear is punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $2,500.00 in fines.
If the court date that you missed was for a felony charge, your failure to appear will be a felony charge as well that is punished by up to one to five years in jail and $2,500 in fines.
Consult with Experienced Counsel for your FTA
Whether you accidentally forgot your court date, were confused about changing dates, or had another reason why you were not in court, talk to an attorney about your defenses and your options for removing the capias.
If you do not address the FTA and the capias warrant, then you will eventually be arrested. And if you do not turn yourself in (and you make law enforcement come find you), it may make it harded to argue for bond again. It is important that you get in touch with an attorney as soon as you miss your court date so that you can be prepared to handle this in front of a judge.
There are several defenses to a failure to appear charge and a skilled attorney can help you navigate all the potential consequences as well as evaluate your specific situation to come up with defenses. Contact our office today for a free case consultation.
