Anyone can be in a position that for whatever reason causes them to forget or miss their Court date. When this happens there are things you can do to rectify the situation and avoid being arrested and sent to jail.

When you fail to show up to Court on a misdemeanor the Court issues a warrant for your arrest but you can do the following to clear up the FTA.

First, contact the Court that was expecting you and find out their policy for the recall of warrants or failure to appear. If the matter was a traffic ticket you can usually reschedule the date with the Court. In Torrance for example you can call the clerk and sometimes get an extension. If the matter was a misdemeanor you should appear at the clerks window first thing the next day. Most Courts open at 8 am. You can explain the reason for missing your Court appearance and they will send you up to appear before the Judge and recall your warrant.

For most misdemeanor cases you can hire a lawyer to go in and appear for you to get the warrant recalled. This helps if you live outside the area and cannot easily appear in Court yourself.

If the matter is a felony you can do the same but first contact an attorney do help you with the case.