What to I do if I have a warrant for failure to appear because my attorney said thatI didn’t need to go to court?
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What to I do if I have a warrant for failure to appear because my attorney said thatI didn’t need to go to court?
I have a assualt charge. My lawyer told me not to go to court that it would be dismissed and i had no reason to go. So I didn’t and now I have a warrent for my arrest for not showing up to court. What can I do?
Asked on August 20, 2010 under Criminal Law, Texas
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
If your attorney was a public defender, you better have solid proof to inform his or her supervisor. You need to inform your supervisor (and bring along any witnesses you may have) to explain what occurred. What can happen is (since the public defender's office doesn't want any bad publicity) the supervisor would contact the court and prosecutor, indicate what happened and see if the warrant can be reversed, your record wiped of that issue and a plea made. Second, consider filing a complaint against this attorney with the state bar in Texas. State bars tend to frown on such misconduct (think malpractice) by counsel. Additionally, if this lawyer you had was a private criminal defense attorney, consider hiring a new one, suing the former for lawyer's fees you incurred and still filing a complaint with the state bar. Do not wait..the longer you wait on a pending warrant the worse it will look for you.
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