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Atlanta Criminal Defense Lawyers > Blog > Criminal Defense > Are There Valid Reasons To Miss Your Court Case In Georgia?

Are There Valid Reasons To Miss Your Court Case In Georgia?

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A good word of advice: if you have a court case that is scheduled, show up. Keep the date on your calendar, secure transportation, and do what you can to make it there. If you fail to attend your pre-scheduled court case the State of Georgia typically assesses serious consequences for this. Everything from driver’s license suspension to fines and jail time may be implemented by the judge. And the judge has discretion in these cases, so how harshly the judge will respond to a failure to appear in court can vary.

In an ideal world, everything would always work out and things would always go smoothly and as planned. Unfortunately, the world does not usually work like this and even when there is a legitimate attempt to make it to a court hearing, things can happen that make it impossible. While there are plenty of inappropriate and unacceptable reasons to miss court there are also valid ones. If you missed your court date, you likely are facing serious repercussions.

The Georgia failure to appear lawyers at Hawkins Spizman can help you with these matters and support you to overcome penalties that may come about from failing to appear in court in Georgia.

What Reasons Are Acceptable for Failing to Appear for a Court Case in Georgia?

If you did not make it to court because you did not feel like going or if you decided to attend some type of other personal or social event instead, this is not going to go over well with the judge. And, in this situation, the judge is likely to be unforgiving with respect to the penalties they pass down to you.

However, if you did not mean to miss your court date but did, the judge may have more sympathy for your situation. For example, maybe you require public transportation to get from one place to another and there was an issue that delayed it from coming on time as per its schedule. Or, maybe you were in a car accident on the way to a court hearing. If your child became ill you may have had to attend to this issue as your priority.

The bottom line is that there are many real and truthful reasons why someone may unwittingly miss their court date. An attorney can support a defendant in this situation and help them overturn penalties that may have resulted from a failure to appear incident.

Speak to a Georgia Failure to Appear Lawyer Today

At Hawkins Spizman, our talented and seasoned Georgia criminal defense attorneys understand that unavoidable things can happen and be the reason why one inadvertently misses their court date. There are remedies to this situation, and one of the lawyers at Hawkins Spizman can help you if you missed your court date. To learn more, please call the Georgia criminal defense firm at Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation at 770-685-6400.

Hawkins Spizman Trial Attorneys represent individuals in Georgia including Atlanta, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Johns Creek, and Sandy Springs.

Source:

dds.georgia.gov/failure-appear-fta

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