Arkansas Criminal Defense Blog ©

In Arkansas, the crime of Failure to Appear (”FTA”) involves an accused person being told to go to court and then that accused person not showing up on their court date. See Generally A.C.A. 5-54-120.

The level of punishment for FTA in Arkansas varies depending on the seriousness of the crime you were originally charged with:

1. Felonies- Generally, if you fail to appear for a felony charge, the FTA charge is a C felony.
2. Misdemeanors- Generally, if you fail to appear for a misdemeanor, the FTA charge is an A misdemeanor.
3. Violations- Generally, if you fail to appear for a violation, the FTA charge is another violation.

In addition to being an additional charge for missing court, you may also have your driver’s license suspended. Please see my other post here on that topic.

Tags: Arkansas Failure to Appear

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In Arkansas failure to appear in District Court can result in a driver’s license suspension. Three things will result from “missin court”.

1. The prosecutor pursuing the charge of Failure to Appear against you. See A.C.A. 5-54-120.
2. You will have your license suspended until you appear in court and complete your sentence.
3. You will have to pay a reinstatement fee to get your license back.

See Generally A.C.A. 16-17-131.

The moral of the story is: do not be “missin court”.

Tags: Arkansas Failure to Appear, Suspension of License

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