New Jersey Traffic Attorney
Failure to Appear Lawyer
Court ordered suspensions as a result of a Failure to Appear, commonly referred to as a “FTA”, are a judicial tool utilized by judges to penalize those defendants who avoid there criminal or traffic charges. What is an unfortunate aspect of a Failure to Appear is that it is oblivious to whether or not you intentionally missed the court date. Often times an FTA is issued because a defendant has recently changed their address or moved out of their parents home. When this happens, any pleas with the court will fall on deaf ears, as the court will tell you that it is your duty to update your current address and not their duty to track you down.
If you are pulled over for any litany of traffic offenses, you may be shocked to find out that your driving on the revoked list as your license has been suspended. First offense driving while suspended charges carry a 500 fine and a 6 month license suspension. This is an unfortunate situation to be in all because you failed to appear in court to pay your parking tickets.
New Jersey Failure to Appear Procedure
Under N.J. Ct. Rules 7:8-9, the procedure for suspending driving privileges on account of a failure to appear are as follows:
(b) Driving Privileges; Report to Motor Vehicle Commission.
(1) Non-Parking Motor Vehicle Cases. If the court has not issued an arrest warrant upon the failure of the defendant to comply with the court’s failure to appear notice, the court shall report the failure to appear or answer to the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission on a form approved by the Administrative Director of the Courts within 30 days of the defendant’s failure to appear or answer. If the court elects, however, to issue an arrest warrant, it may simultaneously report the failure to appear or answer to the Motor Vehicle Commission on a form approved by the Administrative Director of the Courts. If the court does not simultaneously notify the Motor Vehicle Commission and the warrant has not been executed within 30 days, the court shall report the failure to appear or answer to the Motor Vehicle Commission on a form approved by the Administrative Director of the Courts.
(2) All Other Cases. In all other cases, whether or not an arrest warrant is issued, the court may order the suspension of the defendant’s driving privileges or of defendant’s nonresident reciprocity privileges or prohibit the person from receiving or obtaining driving privileges until the pending matter is adjudicated or otherwise disposed of.
For assistance with your license suspension or driving while suspended charges stemming from a Failure to Appear, contact the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall today.
