Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Re: criminal call

If your friend fails to keep the court and the district attorney's office notified as to their current address a bench warrant WILL be issued. Your friend will then have to deal with additional court hearings and additional legal fees. I recommend they immediately retain legal counsel and discuss this with them.

If your friend is in need of legal assistance please have them contact my office to schedule a free initial consultation. For additional information that might help your friend please visit my law firm's website at www.AlleghenyAttorneys.com or by calling my office at 412.731.0865.

Sincerely,

Marc V. Taiani, Esquire

Managing Partner

AAAL - Allegheny Attorneys At Law

(4123) 731-0865: Office

Re: criminal call

Simply put, it is never a good idea to miss a court appearance before a judge, unless one has a really, really good explanation for his/her absence (i.e., medical/family emergency). Without knowing more about the substantive nature of the criminal charges brought against your friend, I cannot say with absolute certainty whether a bench warrant will be issued should he miss the hearing. However, a judge has this option available and is more than likely to resort to issuing a bench warrant given the unexplained absence. While your friend probably will not be jailed until trial and may be able to post bail, the likelihood of receiving any future leeway (from the prosecutor or this judge) with regard to early release or the amount of the bail would be minimal. Therefore, your friend should not miss the appearance. One other option that he may pursue, however, is to try to continue/move the hearing to another day, by contacting his attorney, the prosecutor, or (if he does not have an attorney and does not know who will be prosecuting the case) the court.