The point of setting bail is to ensure that the defendant shows up in court as ordered. If they don’t, they risk more than just forfeiting bail money or collateral. The consequences of jumping or skipping bail can snowball, from arrest and jail time to new criminal charges. Here’s what happens when you skip bail and why it’s a bad idea.
What Is Skipping/Jumping Bail?
The term describes a situation when a person posts bail but fails to appear at their assigned court date(s) and then fails to surrender within a set time period. Why would anyone do that? The answer is simple: People skip bail to avoid prosecution and sentencing. However, skipping bail defeats the entire purpose of the bail system and can have serious consequences.
It’s also a very bad idea because then, the defendant will owe the entire amount of bail and the court will place a warrant for their arrest. If the defendant used a bail bond company to post bail, then the company is also within its rights to retain a bounty hunter to find the defendant (more on that below).
Across the U.S., different states define penalties for jumping bail differently. Some states allow grace periods, while others don’t offer such leniency. In the states with grace periods, a defendant might have 48 hours, 30 days, or some other time period in which to surrender before criminal charges can be filed. Also, some states make bail jumping an offense only where the defendant faces felony charges for the pending case, while others provide that any kind of charge will suffice.
In Louisiana, failure to appear is considered a new charge, on top of whatever the defendant was charged to begin with. It is a misdemeanor if the underlying offense is a misdemeanor and a felony if the underlying offense is a felony. It is punishable by up to two years in jail.
Either way, jumping bail, wherever you live, is just a very bad idea. Let’s go over the potential consequences.
The Consequences of Skipping Bail
If you decide to skip bail, potential consequences can be very costly and unpleasant, if not life-changing. Here are some of the common ones.
- The court will likely issue a warrant for your arrest. It won’t matter what state you’re arrested in. You’ll be detained once found. Anything from a minor traffic violation to a misdemeanor can lead to your arrest.
- You will face new charges on top of your original charge(s), like the charge of failing to appear. Depending on what state you live in, the law might impose a misdemeanor penalty when the underlying charges are misdemeanors and a felony penalty for underlying felony charges. Then, some states use straight penalties, meaning all bail jumping offenses carry the same penalty.
- Your driver’s license may get suspended, and the court won’t lift the suspension until you appear in court in person.
- Any penalties (different from the amount of your original bail) will be expected to be paid in full.
- You may not have the option of posting bail this time if the judge decides to revoke pretrial release. This means spending your time in jail while awaiting trial.
- The bail (the new amount) will likely be higher this time. That’s provided you will be granted bail.
- You will lose your bail money. No matter how much you paid, if you skip bail, that money is non-refundable anymore.
- You will owe your bail bond company the full amount of bail.
- The bail bond company may send a bounty hunter to look for you.
- The judge might impose additional conditions of release.
- The precedent of jumping bail this time won’t work in your favor should you face criminal charges in the future.
- Jumping bail, especially if someone else like a friend or a family member posted your bail or co-signed your bail bond, might inconvenience that person and strain your relationship with them. If they cover for you, they may even face charges for helping a fugitive (you).
Failure to appear results in an arrest warrant so that the defendant can be picked in any state and detained. The bond is also revoked if the defendant does not come back to court within six months, and the defendant will have to post a new bond, leading to more expenses.
What If Missing Court Was an Accident or Unavoidable?
Unfortunately, you will need a very good reason and the help of a defense attorney to convince the court that you didn’t miss your set court date intentionally. If you didn’t receive notice of the hearing, you might have a defense, but courts keep records of these notices. So excuses such as you didn’t receive a notice or your car broke down won’t typically work. But, of course, the court will take into consideration situations beyond your control, like a car accident or hospitalization, as long as it’s not due to drug use or intoxication. If you claim an illness as the reason for missing your court date, you’ll need valid proof, too.
What to Do If You Are Charged With Bail Jumping
If you’ve been charged with bail jumping or missed your court date and don’t know what to do, talk to a local criminal defense attorney. A knowledgeable lawyer will be able to advise you as to the applicable law, the local practices, and your best course of action, including whether surrendering to the court or the authorities may prevent a bail jumping charge.
The Bottom Line
When you’re out on bail, getting charged with failure to appear is not a good thing. We understand that mistakes happen, though. Contact your bail bond agency and your defense attorney right away.
How Affordabail Can Help
Affordabail is an owner-operated bonding company with several locations throughout the state of Louisiana. We have been in the industry for over 20 years, and we’re available 24/7. We treat our clients with respect and a firm belief in “innocent until proven guilty.”
We process all bond payments securely and our friendly staff is efficient and hardworking, getting all the required paperwork done as quickly as possible. We do not want you or your loved ones to stay in custody longer than necessary. Our staff will make the entire process of obtaining bail simple and painless. Let our industry knowledge work for you. We offer payment plans, too. For more details on the types of bail bonds we offer, and to get started, call any of our locations, or fill out an online form.
Photo by Andreas Fischinger on Unsplash
