If you don't show up to your criminal court date, you could land yourself another criminal charge — Failure to Appear. In Arizona, Failure to Appear is a criminal offense that can be a misdemeanor or a felony charge, depending on whether you missed a court date for a misdemeanor or a felony offense. The consequences of Failure to Appear in Arizona vary depending on whether you are charged with Failure to Appear in the Second Degree (the offense for missing a misdemeanor court date) or Failure to Appear in the First Degree (the offense for missing a felony court date). They also can be increased based on any aggravating circumstances of the situation or any previous convictions on your criminal record.

The best way to prevent Failure to Appear charges in Arizona is to go to court when you are required to be there. However, if you have already missed a court date, here are some of the consequences you might be facing.

Failure to Appear at a Misdemeanor or Petty Offense Court Date

If you miss a court date for a misdemeanor or petty offense in Arizona, you can be charged with Failure to Appear in the Second Degree. Petty offenses are crimes that are only punishable by fine and cannot result in a jail sentence on their own.

If you are arrested on a misdemeanor or petty offense in Arizona, the police officer is allowed to release you instead of taking you to jail if you agree to attend a later court date. The police officer will issue a written notice that tells you the date, time, and place of your court date, which has to be within 5 days of your arrest. In order to be released, you will have to give a written promise to appear in court by signing at least one copy of the notice.

If you break your promise to appear by skipping your court date, you could be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor Failure to Appear in the Second Degree offense. Class 2 misdemeanors in Arizona are punishable by fines of up to $750 and imprisonment of up to four months.

If you miss any other type of misdemeanor or petty offense court date, you can be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor Failure to Appear in the Second Degree offense. The penalties for a Class 1 misdemeanor are more serious, and you could be facing up to six months of imprisonment and a fine up to $2,500.

These penalties are only if you have no prior criminal record. If you have previous convictions, you could be facing a higher maximum sentence, depending on the circumstances of your criminal history.

Failure to Appear at a Felony Court Date

If you are charged with a felony and you knowingly fail to appear at a scheduled court date, the consequences for Failure to Appear become even more serious. You can be charged with Failure to Appear in the Second Degree, which is a Class 5 felony.

The presumptive sentence (which is the starting point for sentencing) for a Class 5 felony is imprisonment for 1.5 years. However, Arizona law permits sentences to be reduced (also called “mitigated”) or increased (also called “aggravated”) depending on the circumstances of the offense. If there are factors that show that you may be less deserving of punishment, such as being young or having a diminished capacity for understanding, you can receive a lower sentence. Similarly, if there are factors that make your offense worse, it can lead to a higher sentence.

If you’ve never been convicted of a felony before, your sentence for Failure to Appear in the Second Degree could range from a mitigated sentence of six months to an aggravated sentence of 2.5 years. However, if you have prior convictions, your maximum sentence could increase to 7.5 years.

Remember — this is just for the Failure to Appear charge. You could receive an additional sentence if you are convicted of the underlying crime as well.

Bench Warrants

When a criminal defendant fails to appear for court, the judge can issue a bench warrant for the defendant’s arrest and order that any posted bond be forfeited. A bench warrant is a request that the police arrest the person who missed court and bring him or her to the court. If the police arrest you on a bench warrant, they typically will hold you in jail until the judge can hold a hearing.

A bench warrant gives the police permission to arrest you anywhere they can find you, at any time they can find you. They can apprehend you at home, work, or any other place you might go to, no matter who else is present. If you are pulled over for a traffic violation, the police can arrest you on the spot if they discover your bench warrant and hold you in jail indefinitely.

Driver’s License Suspension

On notification that you failed to appear for your scheduled court appearance, the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division will automatically and immediately suspend your driver’s license indefinitely. If you are pulled over while driving on a license that is suspended for Failure to Appear, not only will you likely be arrested for on the bench warrant, but you can also be cited for Driving on a License Suspended for Failure to Appear, which is a civil traffic violation. You will be fined, and your vehicle could even be impounded for up to 30 days.

What to Do If You Can’t Make Your Court Date

If for some reason you are unable to attend your scheduled court date, you should do your best to avoid failing to appear. Instead of missing the hearing, you are permitted to make a motion to postpone. A motion is a request to the judge to take a certain action or do something that you want the court to do.

If you are represented by an experienced criminal defense attorney, they can assist you with filing a motion to postpone if you have a scheduling conflict with your court date. However, the judge can deny this motion, so it’s you should try to appear at whatever court date you are given, to the best of your ability. The consequences for a Failure to Appear conviction can be much more severe than your existing charge, so it’s in your best interest to cooperate with the court as much as possible when dealing with a criminal case.

The best way to avoid the consequences of Failure to Appear in Arizona is to just go to your court date. But, as we all know, life happens. If you have a skilled criminal defense attorney on your side, they can help you make sure that you don’t face additional punishment for failing to appear at a court date.