Failure to Appear :: Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

In any given criminal courtroom on any given day, it is a pretty safe bet that at least one defendant whose name is listed on the docket will fail to show up for his or her court date. More often than not, the criminal court judge will issue a "capias" directing that defendant to be arrested and brought to court immediately unless the defendant or his or her attorney has notified the court ahead of time that he or she would be absent. When one thinks of the advantages of having the assistance of a criminal defense attorney, one extremely beneficial aspect that is often overlooked is having the aid of someone who can reschedule court dates in advance and keep the court informed of a defendant's situation so that they are not arrested and cited for failing to appear at a mandatory court date.

Tennessee law provides that it is a criminal offense for anyone charged with a crime to fail to appear in court if they have been served with a criminal summons, have been ordered to show up for booking or processing, have been issued a citation commanding them to appear in court, has been released on bond on the condition that they make the next court appearance, or if they simply miss any mandatory court date on purpose. Failure to make such an appearance can lead to the individual being charged with a misdemeanor or felony depending on the reason for which they were scheduled to be in court initially, and the penalty for failure to appear can run consecutively to any other sentence the defendant is serving.

It is worth noting that Tennessee recognizes that a person can use the fact that he or she had a reasonable excuse for missing the scheduled court appearance as a defense to prosecution for failure to appear, but any lawyer with any amount of experience in criminal court will tell you that judges typically take a hard-line stance on what constitutes a "reasonable" absence from court, and look with disfavor on individuals who miss court dates frequently or without informing the court beforehand. As discussed above, having the assistance of an East Tennessee criminal defense attorney can enable you to avoid such situations ahead of time and ensure that you are where you need to be when you need to be there.