Failure to Appear in Virginia

If you missed your court date for a misdemeanor charge, there may be a capias or bench warrant for your arrest. Normally, a judge will issue a bench warrant for failure to appear on a misdemeanor charge. For example, bench warrants can be issued for missing your court date for charges such as reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, DUI, or any other misdemeanor charge. If this happens, an officer may find you, arrest you, and take you to jail. An attorney can discuss with you the wisdom of turning yourself in. In many cases, a magistrate will let you out on bond if you turn yourself in, but this is not guaranteed. Normally after you turn yourself in, a judge will set a court date to revisit the original charge that you missed your court date for.

In some cases judges send people to jail for missing court. If you had a good reason for missing court, that may help you get a lighter penalty. A judge has a lot of discretion. If you missed court for a misdemeanor charge, your failure to appear charge will be a Class 1 misdemeanor under Virginia Code § 19.2-128 (C). If convicted, you can be given a maximum of one year in jail and up to $2,500 in fines. If you missed court for a felony offense, your failure to appear would be charged as a Class 6 felony.