I Missed Court. What Do I Do Now?

Most importantly: Don't panic!

Missing court happens—we're all human and we all make mistakes.

The bad news? You probably have a warrant for your arrest. The good news? We can fix it.

The first thing you should do to fix a missed court date is contact your lawyer. If you aren't sure who your lawyer is or if you have a lawyer, you can contact the Circuit Clerk's office for the county where your case is located to get your lawyer's name and phone number. If you don't have a lawyer, call me.

The next step will depend on why you missed court.

When there's a good reason

Look, sometimes we just miss things, and there's a perfectly good explanation. Maybe you were hospitalized, incarcerated, or working out of town—those are all really easy to prove, and usually pretty easy to solve. Get documentation that shows where you were when you missed your court date, such as a letter from your doctor or employer, and provide it to your lawyer. They may be able to contact the court on your behalf to have your case reset for a new day and time—no harm, no foul.

So what is a good excuse? A good excuse is when the court will probably believe you're telling the truth and missed court because of something out of your control. Didn't have a ride? It's not a bad excuse, but not a good excuse. Forgot about it? Overslept? Didn't have child care? Again, I get it—but that's not a good excuse. That's okay, though—it's still fixable.

When you just screwed up

Got scared? Worried about going to jail? Knew you had a warrant? These are bad reasons to avoid court, and generally will only make things worse. But hey, you're making a better decision now, right?

Your attorney may be able to get your case rescheduled, but the judge might want you to turn yourself in first. It's super annoying, but voluntarily surrendering will show the court you are serious about taking accountability and solving the problem.

If you have to turn yourself in, you will be booked into jail. You may be held for a few days, so make arrangements for your job, kids, pets, and house plants.  Usually, at least in Northeast Alabama, the judges will reset your bond once you have been arrested, especially if you voluntarily turn yourself in without being "picked up" or brought in with new charges.

Whether you missed court for a good reason, bad reason, or no reason, the best thing you can do is to take accountability—even if it means going back into jail for a few days—while you still have control over the situation.

The worst thing you can do is wait.

Don't just hope it goes away. The longer you avoid the situation, the worse it will become. And when you eventually get pulled over for forgetting to use a blinker, you will be arrested, searched, and taken to jail. Even if your kids are with you. Even if you have some weed in the car. Even if you're on your way to work or Christmas dinner.

Then you'll have more to deal with than a missed court date—new charges, job consequences, custody consequences, impound fees, the list goes on.

Don't follow up a bad decision with a sloppy decision—if you miss court, we can fix it. Let's get to work.