I have a warrant for my arrest for missing my court date but was never served to show up
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I have a warrant for my arrest for missing my court date but was never served to show up
On Oct 23 2008, I was invited to speak with my ex about days of visitation for my son, as I entered the house her new boyfriend jumped me and she had me arrested. She pushed for a jury trial and I was to await an indictment that hasn’t came.Today I received a letter from the courthouse saying I was in contempt for not showing up to the court date..I was never told I had one and now there is a warrant for my arrest. My question is what do I do about this? I was never served with any kind of paper or given a date to appear..any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Asked on May 9, 2009 under Criminal Law, Tennessee
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
First thing you do is to get an attorney. If money is an issue go to legal aid or the public defender. They don't charge. They will meet with the authorities and help you sort this all out. But you must act quickly. The next knock at your door could be the police. And even if they seem not to follow up and pursue this don't think the situation is going away. The warrant will remain and in the future if you get stopped for as simple as a speeding ticket this will all turn up. It will go long way if you came in on your own to clear this up as opposed to them having to bring you in.
This might be easily cleared up. Possibly they sent notice to the wrong address. I can't stress enough, retain counsel ASAP. And preferably one who knows the court system in the jusridiction where all of this happened. Hopefully he has a good relationship there and if the prosecutor is sympathtic to your situation that can only help.
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