Patrick – This could be problematic if not remedied quickly. Upon missing your DUI court date a bench warrant was issued for your arrest. If you are pulled over or stopped you will be taken to jail. Also, they could send an officer to the address they have on record for you and pick you up. If you are arrested and placed in jail you could be there until your next court date as you will not be able to just post another bond and get out. In addition, if this was your arraignment, your first court date, you could have lost important rights by not showing up. Since you were charged with DUI originally, and now since you are in bench warrant status, MY RECOMMENDATION is to hire a defense lawyer ASAP! Our office handles DUIs. We are directly across the street from the DeKalb County Courthouse and our law firm has been in downtown Decatur GA since 1969. Your criminal defense lawyer may be able to get the bench warrant pulled so you don’t sit in jail for too long, however, this is a lot easier for the lawyer to do if you hire one right away. The longer you are in bench warrant status the worse it gets. Anyway, if we can help give us a call. Our office address is 545 North McDonough Street, The Trust Building, Suite 201, Decatur, GA 30030. By the way, the DeKalb County Courthouse is at 556 North McDonough Street, Decatur, GA 30030.
You will have a bench warrant for failure to appear. You need to hire a lawyer asap to get the warrant recalled and get a new court date. Otherwise when they pick you up you will sit in jail without a bond for a long time until the judge sees you next.
