Do i have to go to court if I have not been served?
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Do i have to go to court if I have not been served?
My boyfriend and I have a domestic violence case we wanted dropped. He has a court date and I don’t want to be at court; they’re trying to serve me papers. I don’t want to be locked up for this or do I need to go? I don’t want to be there at all.
Asked on April 28, 2017 under Criminal Law, Georgia
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
First of all, whether or not to drop charges in a criminal case is up to the prosecutor, not the alleged victim. If there is enough other evidence to support a conviction, then the case can still move forward even without the victim's cooperation. As for your avoiding service of process, while it is not illegal to avoid being subpoenaed, there are ways for the state to meet the service requirement without physically handing it to you. Further,if they do meet the service requirements and you do not appear in court, since this is a criminal matter, you could have a bench warrant issued for failure to appear and face fines and/or jail time.
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