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, upon arrest for Driving While Intoxicated, law enforcement is required to seize your license and issue you a temporary permit to drive. See A.C.A. 5-65-403 generally.

However, this permit is only good for 30 days. You MUST request a hearing within 7 calendar days of recieving this permit to challenge your suspension. If you do not ask for a hearing you are barred from challenging your license suspension administratively.

It is important you see an experienced Arkansas DWI defense attorney within 7 days so that he can discuss this option with you.

Tags: Arkansas DWI

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