Warrant – because of missed court date what’s the “next” step?

Alot of people miss their scheduled DUI and criminal traffic related court appearances for many reasons. Sometimes the police officer writes down your address wrong; you did not change your address after moving; you were out of town when the notice came to your mailbox; you opened your mail late or sometimes you just weren’t ready to deal with it.

Well, the thing to remember is that you will probably be arrested if you are stopped by a police officer. The good news is that most Courts have a warrant quash procedure and calenders where you can appear in person and quash (recall/cancel/stop) the warrant. You need to call the Court that gave you notice beforehand and find out what there particular procedure is. Alot of Courts will require your appearance in person to schedule the Court appearance. Some Courts will allow you to quash the warrant at the Court clerks window if it is below a certain amount (for example $1000) and pay a warrant fee (for example $75). The key is TO DO SOMETHING, so you don’t have this horrible uncertainity over your head. Once you appear at the scheduled Court appearance, most Courts will simply release you on your own PR (personal recognizance) (obviously this depends some on your prior history and reason for missing the Court date) and set a new Court date. If arraignment was the missed hearing, some Courts will do the arraignment at that time. For King County see link King County Quash Warrant