What Happens If I Miss My Court Date For A Traffic Ticket in Harris County

So, it’s not bad enough that you got yourself pulled over and the officer on duty gave you a ticket for some traffic violation. If you have a traffic ticket and you would like to contest your ticket, you should still make your initial court date. There are other possible options depending on your situation, such as possibly taking a driving safety course or defer adjudication, or just paying the ticket fine. But now you’ve found that you missed your court date and now you have might have a warrant out for your arrest. What could have been simply resolved is now a big mess that is going to take up even more time and drain your wallet even more than if you were to just pay the fine to begin with. If you are given a traffic citation, hiring an experienced traffic citation attorney can help you possibly get the ticket dismissed or fines reduced. Whatever you choose, make sure you absolutely do not miss your court date.

So, what happens to me if I miss my court date?

If you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation that you have missed your court date and now you have failed to appear in court when you were required to be there, here is what you should know about the repercussions of missing your court date.

If you miss your court date, whether on purpose or by accident, the court may issue a warrant for your arrest and in some cases, you may also be charged with an additional offense for failing to appear. If the court issues a warrant, this will include additional fees.

A warrant issued for your arrest ($50.00 warrant fee plus additional fees),
A separate charge of Failure to Appear (FTA) files $244.00.

If you have failed to appear in court on your court date, the court may also notify the DPS (Department of Public Safety) and you could be denied the renewal of your driver’s license. Section 706.006 of the Texas Transportation Code states, this will include an additional administrative fee of $10 prior to the renewal of your driver’s license.

If this is referred to a collections company, this will result in an additional collection fee of 30% of the total fine amount.

Inability to pay the fine is NOT an excuse for failing to appear. You need to show up to your hearing regardless of if you have the money to pay for the ticket or not. Fine payment arrangements can be made at the time of appearance, so do not let that be a determining factor in you not showing up to your court date.

If the court has issued a failure to appear, here are a few things you can do which may avoid arrest:

Posting Bail- You may post bail at the Justice Court where your case is filed. Bail may be in the form of a Surety Bond or a Cash Bond. If you are posting a cash bond, this must be given in the form of a cashier’s check or money order. This will be made payable to the Justice of the Peace in the full amount of the bail.

A magistrate must consider allowing you a personal bond.

After you have posted bail, you will be notified of the date and time of your next court date. It is important that you appear, or your legal matters can be much worse with additional fees and a higher form of punishment.

Paying the fine at the court-

You may also be able to pay the acceptable fine either in person at the Justice Court where your case is filed or by mailing the fine to the Justice Court. Again, fines must be paid in cashier’s check or money order paid out to the Justice of the Peace in the full required amount. If you mail your fine to the Justice Court, it is a good idea to call them to make sure they have received your payment. Just mailing in the payment is not good enough. You need to make sure that it is received to prevent you from going on with your business and being caught in a surprise situation later.

If you pay the fine, no further court appearance is required.

Until your case is dismissed or disposed of, you will remain subject to arrest. If you are arrested this will have to post bail to secure your release from custody and you will again be required to appear in court for the charge of failure to appear.

If you hired an experienced attorney for your failure to appear, you could potentially get your charges dropped or the case dismissed so you can just focus on the original ticket. Always make sure you show up to your court date on the correct date and the correct time, to avoid making matters worse. This can save you time and money.

If you have found that you’ve missed your court date for your traffic citation, you should definitely get some help and assistance by a qualified and experienced attorney who handles these types of offenses. The Law Office of Chad Zubi, PLLC handles all criminal law cases, and yes, traffic citations and failures to appear fall under criminal law. Contact our office today to learn more about your rights and how a criminal law attorney can help save you money and time in resolving your legal matter. You can schedule a free consultation by clicking HERE or by calling 832-777-8924. Attorney Chad Zubi fights for you, for your rights, and we always aim to try to get you the best possible outcome. We handle traffic citations, DUI/DWI charges, theft, assault, and other criminal law matters.