What to do if my court date is in 9 days but there is still no record of my ticket?

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What to do if my court date is in 9 days but there is still no record of my ticket?

On May 1 I received a speeding ticket in VA State Code 46.2-874. My court date is May 15, which seems rather soon for a traffic offense but, my issue is that I have an important family trip planned during that time and thus I will not be in the state and obviously cannot attend my hearing. My citing officer checked the

Asked on May 5, 2018 under General Practice, Virginia

Answers:

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

At ths point you need to hire a local attorney to help you. They can appear in your place and possibly resolve the case; at the very least they can get a continuance. If you do nothing, an no one at all shows up on your court date, then the judge will order a bench warrant for failure to appear ("FTA"). This is something that you do not want to happen. 

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

Hire a lawyer to appear for you. While depending on the court (court practices vary) he may not be able to 100% resolve the matter without you (i.e. you may need to come in another day to take or ratify a plea in person), if your lawyer shows up for you, he'll at least be able to explain where you are and get an adjournment (another date) for the hearing. You can avoid a bench warrant for nonappearance by having an attorney show up.


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