Failure to appear in Court/ Warrant for Arrest

Failure to appear for a scheduled court date in Massachusetts can result in a charge of Contempt of Court. You may have missed a scheduled date to appear in your ongoing criminal matter, or perhaps you missed jury duty. Whatever the reason, a warrant for your arrest will issue. Once there is a warrant for your arrest in Massachusetts, it never just “goes away.” The longer it remains active before it is cleared up, the greater likelihood that you will be held on bail, as the judge may perceive you as someone who has no regard for the Massachusetts justice system. There are ways to avoid any further problems, but those ways are unique to each person’s situation. Your best option is to speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney who can help you avoid this and other additional charges by dealing with the warrant in a way that best fits your circumstances.

There are many unintended consequences of having an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court. If a police officer randomly scans your license plate (which they can, and often do without any reason) and the car is registered to you, you will be stopped, asked to exit the car, arrested, and your car will be towed. This can be extremely inconvenient and embarrassing, especially if you have a passenger in the car.

Additionally, Failure to Appear in Court will likely trigger a driver’s license suspension with the Massachusetts RMV before you are even notified of the suspension. So if you are stopped by a police officer, you will now be facing an additional charge of Operating with a Suspended License.

A warrant for your arrest may also issue if you are currently on probation, and your probation officer believes that you may have violated one or more terms of your probation. A violation could include something as minor as missing a payment or class, or it could result from a failed drug test, leaving the state without permission, or a new criminal charge against you. Whatever the reason, you should contact my office immediately.

An outstanding warrant can lead to your arrest at any time. You could be at work, at a friend’s house, or at an event with your family. If the authorities discover that you have an outstanding warrant, you can be cuffed and arrested on the spot. A skilled defense attorney can often make arrangements so that you are not arrested on the outstanding warrant at all.

If you believe that you have an outstanding arrest warrant, or if you failed to appear in court, contact my office immediately for a free phone consultation:

Urbelis Law, LLC

50 Milk St 16th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: (617) 830-2188