Clearing Up an FTA in Local Area Courts
Failure to Appear
Inadvertently missing traffic court is more common than you might think; indeed, nearly 40,000 people fail to appear in the Atlanta Municipal Court each year. More often than not, it's simply due to an oversight. The silver lining is that these issues can usually be addressed and with the help of an attorney it can be handled quickly and painlessly.
Understanding FTA Law
Why would the traffic court issue a bench warrant?
It’s not an uncommon situation: you get a traffic ticket, intend to go to court, but the date somehow escapes your memory and you fail to attend.
The consequences could be a suspension of your driving license and potentially even a bench warrant for your arrest. All of this could unfold unbeknownst to you until a letter from the Department of Driver Services (DDS) lands in your mailbox, notifying you of the suspension.
Alternatively, you might not even receive the letter and only discover the bench warrant and suspension when you’re pulled over and penalized for driving with a suspended license. This can be particularly aggravating because you might be unable to post bail until the original bench warrant for failure to appear (FTA) in court is resolved.
In Georgia, drivers who receive a Failure to Appear (FTA) citation may harbor various worries. These can range from legal repercussions such as fines and imprisonment, to the risk of a warrant being issued. An FTA can also result in the suspension of a driver’s license and potentially lead to a considerable hike in insurance premiums, leading to financial hardship.
In some cases, the warrant may not be valid in which case you may want to explore monetary damages for the harm caused by an erroneous bench warrant.
Does the warrant mean you will be automatically arrested when you return to traffic court to handle your FTA?
Our clients often express deep concern over the possibility of being arrested when they return to court to resolve a Failure to Appear (FTA) case. This fear is understandable given that it’s commonplace for Georgia judges to issue bench warrants when someone doesn’t show up for traffic court.
However, it’s infrequent for an individual to face arrest when appearing to address an FTA in traffic court. The primary intention behind issuing a bench warrant in an FTA case is to officially—and rather disagreeably—urge the person to return to court and settle the case.
In the rare instances where an individual is taken into custody upon returning to court for an FTA case, it’s typically because there’s a warrant from another jurisdiction, or related to a different case. If you have concerns about potential arrest, it might be prudent to consult with a local lawyer before moving forward.
Additionally, you can contact someone in the court’s clerk’s office to understand how that specific court deals with FTA cases. Some courts schedule specific times for these cases; for instance, certain courts might manage FTA cases every morning at 8 AM, requiring you to be there as early as 7 AM that day to get on the docket, without any possibility of signing up in advance. Some courts deal with FTA cases in the afternoon and necessitate pre-signing. Others may cancel the warrant when you show up and arrange for a new date.
When you return to court to resolve the FTA, the judge will generally cancel the bench warrant without much ado. If you had a legitimate reason for missing court, like a medical emergency, ensure you bring the relevant paperwork. It’s usually recommended to have physical copies instead of digital ones—showing documents on your phone screen may not suffice.
What if a driver has already been arrested on an FTA warrant?
There are two most common scenarios in which you can be arrested due to a traffic court bench warrant.
The first situation is when you’re arrested within the “original jurisdiction”. For instance, if you failed to attend court at the Atlanta Municipal Court and subsequently get pulled over in Atlanta for a new traffic violation. If you’re arrested on this bench warrant (assuming there are no other legal issues), you’re likely to be released promptly and given a new court date for both the old and the new traffic tickets.
The second scenario occurs when you’re arrested outside of the original jurisdiction. Clients often report that if they are far away from the original jurisdiction, they aren’t always arrested on a traffic FTA bench warrant. We’ve heard this frequently from out-of-state clients. Instead, the law enforcement officer from another state simply informs them of the existing warrant and advises them to consult with a lawyer to resolve it.
Conversely, if you’re stopped in an area close to the original jurisdiction, you’re likely to be taken into custody, and the process could take longer than anticipated. For example, if you missed a traffic court date in Atlanta and are later stopped in Cobb County, the officer won’t directly take you back to Atlanta. Instead, you’ll be taken to the Cobb County Detention Center, where you’ll need to wait for Atlanta to send a vehicle to transport you. Usually, you cannot post bail, and the transport schedule is not always provided. The waiting period can vary, ranging from a few hours to many days. In such a case, you can either wait it out or hire a lawyer to get them to work on getting the original warrant lifted.
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Criminal defense for FTA status
Failures to appear (FTA) cases can quickly become complicated due to the various elements involved, including license suspension, bench warrants, and the initial charges that led to the FTA. Even if you’re able to resolve an FTA, your license may still be suspended unless you take the necessary steps to have it reinstated.
If you are facing an FTA suspension and are unsure as to what your next steps should be, Attorney Erin Gerstenzang can help.