If you missed a court date in Maryland, a bench warrant has probably already been issued for your arrest. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that you get picked up somewhere inconvenient: a traffic stop, a visit to a government office, or an encounter that has nothing to do with the original case. Bench warrants can often be dealt with on your terms rather than theirs, but you need to move quickly.
Do not turn yourself in without talking to a lawyer first.
What Is a Bench Warrant for Failure to Appear?
A bench warrant is issued by a judge when a defendant fails to appear for a scheduled court date in a criminal or serious traffic case. Unlike an arrest warrant, which is typically issued at the start of a case and kept secret, a bench warrant is usually a matter of public record. It will also show up if a police officer runs your name during any kind of stop.
Bench warrants are issued for missing any court appearance where jail is a possible penalty. If you miss a payable traffic citation, the court generally suspends your license rather than issuing a bench warrant. Any criminal charge or jailable traffic offense is a different story.
What Happens When You Miss a Court Date?
Judges can take a dim view of defendants who fail to appear. This can affect bail, how the State treats you going forward, and how the judge feels about you when it matters most. If you are picked up on a bench warrant rather than dealing with it proactively through a lawyer, you are much more likely to be held or face a high bail.
What Should You Do?
Call me at (301) 556-8709. The best outcomes in bench warrant situations almost always come from taking controlled action rather than waiting to get arrested. In many cases I can contact the court, get the warrant recalled, and get you a new court date without you spending any time in jail at all. Even when the warrant cannot be recalled outright, I can help plan your surrender by carefully choosing the time and place so that your wait for a commissioner is measured in hours rather than days, and argue effectively for your release if necessary.
The worst thing you can do is nothing. The warrant does not go away on its own.
Why Did This Happen?
People miss court dates for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes the notice got lost in the mail or went to an old address. Sometimes the date was written down wrong. Sometimes people forget about a citation they received months earlier, especially if they were not arrested at the time. Sometimes life intervenes. Judges understand that these things happen, and a lawyer who can explain the circumstances and demonstrate that you are taking the situation seriously can make a real difference in how the court responds.
What If I Am Arrested Out of State?
A Maryland bench warrant does not disappear when you cross state lines. If you are arrested in another state on a Maryland bench warrant, you may face the extradition process, which can mean days or weeks in jail in the other state waiting to be transported back to Maryland, even if the underlying charge is relatively minor. Getting the warrant recalled before that happens is much easier than dealing with it after an out-of-state arrest.
Other Types of Bench Warrants
Not all bench warrants come from a missed court date. A bench warrant may be issued if your probation officer alleges a violation of probation, if you are alleged to have violated the conditions of your pretrial release, or in a few other situations. These warrants are handled differently than a simple failure to appear, and the stakes are often higher. If you are not sure what kind of warrant you have or why it was issued, call me and I can find out.
What About My License?
Missing a court date on a traffic charge can result in your license being suspended by the MVA in addition to the bench warrant. If that has happened, getting the warrant resolved is usually the first step toward getting the suspension lifted. I handle both the court side and the MVA side of these situations.
Failure to Appear as a Separate Violation
Missing a court date can be a violation of probation in and of itself on top of whatever else you are charged with. Missing a court date on a citation can also result in a separate criminal charge for failure to appear under CP ยง 5-212, punishable by up to 90 days and a $500 fine.
If you have a bench warrant in Maryland, or if you missed a court date and are not sure what to do next, call me at (301) 556-8709.
