In Criminal Law there is a term called failure to appear of FTA. What does this mean and what consequences may this have on your criminal case?
A failure to appear means that you were supposed to show up for court and did not. The court needs to show that your failure to appear was willful which means notice of the court date was mailed to the correct address. If the Judge finds this then he/she will issue a warrant for your arrest and you could be held at no bond until your case is over or they can give you a new bond amount and you will have to be rearrested and rebooked in the jail.
If you hire a Central Florida attorney in Criminal Law then most if not all court dates can be avoided by signed a waiver of appearance and having the attorney appear on your behalf. This is important to make sure your case is being handled properly and you do not receive a warrant for missing a court date if you do not receive notice from the clerk of courts.
If you did miss court and have a warrant for your arrest most of the time you can hire an attorney to take over your case and the attorney can file a motion with the court to set aside the warrant. This will usually require a court hearing where you appear to court with the attorney and the attorney will present argument to the Judge as to why the failure to appear was not willful.
