If you’ve been arrested in the State of Texas, you are usually able to seek a bail bond and spend the duration of your time preceding your trial at home. However, there are conditions you must abide by to ensure your bail bond agreement stays valid. One of the offenses you could commit during this time that would violate the agreement is failure to appear in court. If you do not appear for your court date, the judge will issue a warrant for your arrest, your bail bond agreement will be violated, and you will be charged with the additional offense of skipping or jumping bail. Here’s what you need to know about this condition, and how our professional bail bond services can help you.
Penalties for Bail Jumping
It is a criminal offense to jump bail or fail to appear in court, which can lead to additional fees, fines, and warrants. If you skip bail and a warrant is issued for your arrest, you could face the following consequences or more:
- Your bail could be denied (you may not receive your money back)
- You may need to stay in jail once you are arrested the second time
- You may receive additional charges such a contempt of court (depending on whether your failure to appear is a misdemeanor or felony)
Defenses for Failure to Appear
Some of the main reasons why you might need to appear in court include if you received a traffic ticket, if you committed a crime, if you are testifying as a witness in a court case, or if you have been sued or called for jury duty. This order to go to court must not be denied, or you could be charged with failure to appear in court. To avoid the penalties, you may present to the judge a valid reason for missing your trial date. Possible valid reasons may include the following:
- You did not get proper notice of the time and date you needed to be in court
- You had a previously scheduled court appearance that clashed
- You had a serious illness or were in an accident
- There was a natural disaster that prevented you from attending
- There was a death in your family
How Do I Correctly Turn Myself in for FTA?
The more time passes after you’ve missed your court date, the worse the consequences can get. The police will rarely come to your door to serve a bench warrant, so you will need to turn yourself in as soon as possible. Before doing this, make sure you speak with your bail bondman. Once you get to the police station, you may not have any time to contact them after being incarcerated. They will also be able to provide you with important advice on what to say when addressing the situation you are faced with.
What Happens to My Bail?
Unfortunately, if you fail to appear for your court date, your original bail bond will be considered invalid. Once the bail is forfeited, a new bail amount will be set with stronger restrictions. You may also face the consequence of a failure to appear charge, which can come with fees.
How Many Times Can My Court Date Be Rescheduled?
The number of times your date can be rescheduled depends on the case, and it always requires the permission of the court. If you have a valid reason to move your court date, it is always best to address this early on to prevent yourself from accidentally missing your appearance. However, judges have years of experience in dealing with court date rescheduling and will know if you are using unreasonable delay tactics. You may request to reschedule your date, but if the judge feels that you are being unreasonable and simply putting off the date, you’ll have to attend the date they gave you.
Contact PCS Bail Bonds for Help
The instructions following an initial bail bond release from jail must be followed to keep you out of jail until your trial date. If you break these rules, you could face additional consequences and ultimately end up back in jail without your bail money. Failure to appear in court is a serious offense because it suggests to the court that you are unreliable and/or that you are a flight risk. Although there are circumstances that may require you to change your date, it is never recommended to simply skip your court date. Knowing what your rights are, and knowing how to keep yourself under the protection of your bail bond release can be challenging, which is why you should seek the guidance of a bail bondsman. They can post bail and assist you until your trial.
PCS Bail Bonds can help you if you need to post bail or need advice about your situation. We provide 24-hour bail bonds for all kinds of charges including theft, drug and weapon possession, embezzlement, assault, burglary, and more. We can help you get collateral and offer 10% lower bond fees. Our experienced agents can help you obtain a bond in a fraction of the time.
We have professional memberships in several renowned associations including the Professional Bondsmen of Texas, Professional Bondsmen of Tarrant County, and Tarrant County Bar Association. We can also help you if you live in Fort Worth, Texas, and other municipalities in Tarrant County. We will process your request quickly and efficiently. Our bond agents are always on call and we can be down to the jail in under 30 minutes.
Contact us now by phone at 817-335-1655, at our e-mail, visit us in-person, or fill out our bail bond request form. You can be confident that you’re working with experts who are dedicated to helping you.