California Penal Code section 1320 states, “Every person who is charged with or convicted of the commission of a misdemeanor who is released from custody on his or her own recognizance and who in order to evade the process of the court willfully fails to appear as required, is guilty of a misdemeanor…Every person who is charged with or convicted of the commission of a felony who is released from custody on his or her own recognizance and who in order to evade the process of the court willfully fails to appear as required is guilty of a felony”
When Is It a Crime to Fail to Appear in Court?
Failing to appear in court constitutes a crime if you fulfill the following four elements. The elements are:
- The court charged or convicted the defendant of a misdemeanor or felony.
- The court released the defendant from custody.
- The defendant willfully failed to appear at court when required to do so
- The defendant tried to avoid the legal process by failing to appear
It is important to note that for the second element regarding release from custody, different release methods can lead to different Penal Code violations.
- If the defendant is released WITHOUT posting bail (on their own recognizance), and fails to appear in court, they could be charged with violating PC 1320
- If the defendant is released WITH bail, in a felony case, this is actually a violation of PC 1320.5, which carries more severe punishments
What Are the Punishments for Failing to Appear?
Failing to appear in court is a wobbler offense in California, meaning that it can sometimes be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. In the case of PC 1320, the evading court on a misdemeanor case will result in a misdemeanor, while evading a felony court date will result in a felony offense. As mentioned earlier, factors like bail payment can also impact the severity of the punishments.
When you fail to appear for a court date for a misdemeanor offense, the court charges the crime as a misdemeanor. The punishments can include:
- Up to 6 months in a county jail
- A maximum fine of $1,000
When you fail to appear for a court date for a felony offense, the court charges the crime as a felony. The punishments can include:
- A maximum fine of $5,000
- Either up to 1 year in county jail OR a maximum sentence of 3 years in a state prison
When you fail to appear for a court date for a felony offense with bail posted, the court charges the crime as a felony. The punishments can include:
- A maximum fine of $10,000
- Up to 3 years in a county jail or state prison
What Are the Punishments for Failing to Appear?
You can defend yourself in several ways if authorities wrongfully accuse you of criminally failing to appear in court. Some of these include:
- You didn’t willfully miss your court date
- You didn’t mean to avoid the legal process by failing to appear
- You missed your court date based on a mistake made by the court
You must fail to appear intentionally to face charges for the crime. There are several reasons why this may not be the case. Simply forgetting about your court date is not a crime, you must have knowledge of the court date and willfully decide not to go. Even if you did purposefully fail to appear, it is only a crime to do so if you were trying to avoid the legal process. There are many legitimate reasons as to why you would have to miss a court date. For example, you may have been sick or injured.
Lastly, sometimes our legal system does make mistakes in coordinating dates for court appearances. It is not uncommon for the court to expect you to come on an incorrect date, or one that is different from what they told you. If the court made a mistake causing your failure to appear, you can use it as a defense. KAASS LAW provides expert legal defense for individuals charged with failing to appear in court under California Penal Code 1320.