![]() Keep in mind these issues must actually prevent you from making it to court on time. You were involved in a car accident on the way to court.A family member had a medical emergency and needed your help.While judges consider defendants’ circumstances on a case-by-case basis, reasons for missing a court date that may be considered “legitimate” include: However, to do so, you will need to address your situation proactively-as discussed in greater detail below. If you knew about your court date and you missed it for a legitimate reason, you may be able to avoid the consequences discussed above. If you did not have “actual notice” (i.e., no one told you) and you were not served with a copy of the order, then you shouldn’t have a bench warrant issued for your arrest. What If You Had a Legitimate Reason for Your Failure to Appear?įor a judge to issue a bench warrant under Rule 1910.13-1, the judge must find that either: (i) you had “actual notice” that you were required to appear in court, or (ii) you were served with a copy of the order requiring your appearance. In Pennsylvania, failure to appear for a scheduled court date can also lead to: However, if you get pulled over and the officer sees a bench warrant pending, the officer could arrest you and take you into custody. How likely is it that you will actually get arrested if you have a bench warrant? In most cases, the police will not knock on your door or try to locate you. ” If the court issues a bench warrant for your arrest, the police could pick you up, and you could be held in custody for up to 72 hours while you await a hearing. Understanding the Consequences of “Failure to Appear”įailure to appear is addressed in Rule 1910.13-1 of the Pennsylvania Code: “If a party fails to appear at a conference and/or hearing as directed by order of the court, the court may issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the party. If you fail to do so, you can face the consequences even if you aren’t found guilty of the offense for which you were required to appear. Similarly, if a CP case has a corresponding MC case, the MC case docket number will most often be set forth as the "cross court docket number" on the CP case web docket sheet.When you have a court date for a traffic case or criminal case in Pennsylvania, you must show up. Specifically, if a MC case has a corresponding CP case, the CP case docket number will most often be set forth as the "cross court docket number" on the web docket sheet for the MC. To determine if a MC case has a related CP case (or vice versa), please review the "cross court docket number" field appearing on the web docket sheet (see page one in the case information section). Thus, some cases will have both a MC and CP docket number that concern the same incident or offenses. Therefore, some cases, such as those involving felony offenses, will initially be filed in MC but will be adjudicated in the CP. In Philadelphia County, MC has initial jurisdiction in processing every criminal arrest in Philadelphia and conducts misdemeanor trials and preliminary hearings for all felony cases. ![]() When a search of cases from Philadelphia County is conducted using "other criteria", the search results will include all applicable Philadelphia Municipal Court (MC) and Court of Common Pleas (CP) cases.
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