Failure to Appear for Court Appearance in New Jersey

Failing to appear for a court appearance will always have some consequence. A warrant can be issued for your arrest. Your license can be suspended. Your fines can be increased. Believe it or not, it can even be used against you in the future if you are arrested for another offense and are going through the pre-trial bail reform process. The criminal, traffic, and DWI defense lawyers at Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo have helped countless clients clear up problems when they failed to appeal. We have warrants recalled, licenses reinstated, and get your case back on the calendar so it can be resolved in the best possible way. In many instances, it is our assurance to the Court that we are representing you that convinces them to recall the warrant or send that letter to the MVC to reinstate your license pending resolution of your criminal or traffic matter. In some instances, bail must be posted. If that is the case, we will work with the Court to make sure that the amount required is the bare minimum.

Frequently, we are contacted by clients who have failure to appear and warrants in many different courts. Putting the administrative and legal mess back together is an overwhelming process to most. But we are experienced at doing just that. We have helped clients who have as many as ten open cases with failure to appear and warrants throughout New Jersey.

Failing to appear for the Municipal Court and failing to appear for the Superior Court are two different things. Failing to appear for the Superior Court will likely trigger a harsher set of consequences. It is also more difficult to have warrants removed without the defendant first turning themselves in and spending some time in the County Jail. I have had many families call me when a loved one thought they could just walk into the police station or court and try to explain why they didn’t appear. The Superior Court does not care that you had to be at work, or you got a flat tire, child care issues, lost court notice, etc. If you show up to the Superior Court alone, chances are you will be locked up. An experienced attorney can possibly avoid all of this. In many cases, we have been able to persuade Superior Court Judges not to act on the warrant and have it removed.

Bail reform in New Jersey had created a particularly tough situation for those who fail to appear for Superior Court criminal dates. The prosecutor could use that to file a detention motion with the Court to say that you are a flight risk and unreliable. The Judge could use this a reason to detain you pending trial. If you are in this situation it is important that you contact a lawyer who knows how to navigate the system.

Municipal Court failure to appear is a little easier to deal with but still difficult the rule that governs Failure to appear in the Municipal Court is R.7:8-9. Municipal Court judges are not as quick to issue a warrant, but it really depends on the Judge. Regardless, we have appeared throughout New Jersey and have handled cased for client in every county, including Union, Essex, Middlesex, Hudson, Passaic, Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset, Etc.

The fact of the matter is that most people wait some time to deal with as Failure to Appear. The longer you wait the worse it usually is, but if you have a case that is 6, 7, 8 years old or more, we can help and have dealt with cases that are over 20 years old.

We have over 30 years of experience handling cases in the Municipal and Superior Courts. We can put this experience to work for you. Stop worrying about getting pulled over because your license is suspended. Stop feeling nervous every time you see a police officer. Attach the problem head on by hiring an experienced and knowledgeable attorney who can unravel the problem and get your life back on track.

We are available for consultations and we can work with you on a payment plan. Our fees are reasonable and we want to help.