What happens if I miss my court date?

If you recently missed your court date you may be able to fix it...if you act quickly. 

Criminal 
In NC, if you are a defendant in a case and miss a court date, you must request a new court date otherwise a warrant will be issued for your arrest for "Failure to Appear."  If you put up a bond to ensure your return for the court date, you will likely lose the bond. Each county has a different waiting period before the clerk will report your absence so check with your clerk's office at www.nccourts.org.

Civil
If you are the plaintiff in a civil case and you do not show up to present your case in court, it is likely that your case will be dismissed. You may not bring the case again using the same facts and issues under the legal principal of "res judicata" because a judgment has already been entered against you. 

If you are the defendant in a civil case and you do not show up, it is likely that you will lose the case and everything that the plaintiff has alleged will be deemed as true in a "default judgment" against you. Because you were not present to tell the court your side of the story, the court will assume that the plaintiff has told the truth and they win by "default." 

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If you know before the court date, that you will be unable to attend, speak with an attorney so that they can request a "continuance" for a more convenient court date. If you have more questions, contact my office at (919)321-6569, Nastasia@kisalawatkins.com, Kisala Watkins Law Group, PLLC.