California Penal Code 1214.1 PC imposes a $100 civil assessment for failing to appear in court for a required criminal proceeding such as an arraignment, trial, or sentencing hearing. This applies whether the case is for:
- an infraction,
- a misdemeanor, or
- a felony.1
In addition to the civil assessment, the judge may issue a bench warrant for your arrest. Failure to appear may also lead to additional criminal charges under:
- Penal Code 1320 PC if you were released on your own recognizance;
- Penal Code 1320.5 PC if you were released on bail; or
- Vehicle Code 40508 VC if you failed to appear on a traffic ticket.
Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following in this article:
- 1. What are the fines under 1214.1 PC?
- 2. Is it a crime to fail to appear in court?
- 3. Are there legal defenses?
- 4. Could I also be charged under Vehicle Code 40508 VC?
- Additional resources
Penal Code 1214.1 imposes a $100 fine for failure to appear in court.
1. What are the fines under 1214.1 PC?
Penal Code 1214.1 PC is the California statute that states you must pay a $100 civil assessment for failing to appear in a court-ordered criminal proceeding.2
A prosecutor must prove two things in order for you to be fined under this statute:
- a notice was sent to you telling you to appear in court, and
- you ignored the notice “without good cause.”3
The use of the language “without good cause” means you may very well have a valid legal defense to PC 1214.1 charges if you failed to appear because of a good cause. One example would be that an emergency led to your failure to appear.
In practice, California courts typically give you a 10-day grace period and send you a notice that you failed to appear. If you reply within this grace period with a “good cause” excuse for not showing up in court, then the judge may waive the civil assessment.
2. Is it a crime to fail to appear in court?
You can be charged with the crime of “failure to appear” in California if you:
- are charged with or convicted of a California crime,
- are released from custody, and
- willfully fail to appear in court when required to do so, in order to evade the process of the court.4
California Penal Code 1320 sets out the crime of “failing to appear” if you are released on your own recognizance.5 Penal Code 1320.5 sets out the crime of “failure to appear” if you are released on bail.6
2.1. Penalties
If you are initially charged with or convicted of a misdemeanor, and you were released on your own recognizance, then failure to appear is a misdemeanor.7 The penalties include up to six months in county jail.
Though if you were either:
- charged with or convicted of a felony, and released on your own recognizance, or
- charged with or convicted of a felony, and released on bail,
then failure to appear will be a felony under California law.8 Potential penalties include a county jail sentence of up to one year.9
2.2. Bench warrants
If you fail to appear in court for a required appearance, the judge may issue a bench warrant for your arrest. If your attorney is present and asks for extra time, the judge may hold off on issuing the warrant for up to 48 hours to see if you had a valid excuse for not showing up (such as hospitalization).
If the judge does issue a warrant, police will likely not go out and hunt you down unless you are facing felony charges. Though if you get pulled over, the police will:
- see the warrant when they run your license and
- arrest you.
Some bench warrants are issued with a bail amount, which means you can bail out after being arrested. Others are no bond warrants, meaning that you have to remain in custody at least until your next court hearing.
If you have an outstanding warrant, you are advised to hire a criminal defense attorney to file a motion to quash the bench warrant. Judges usually agree to recall bench warrants as long as you do not have a history of missing court.
3. Are there legal defenses?
Two common legal defenses to charges that you failed to appear in violation of either PC 1320 or 1320.5 are:
- You did not willfully fail to appear: Perhaps you were simply unaware of the court date or proceeding.
- You did not specifically intend to evade the process of the court. Perhaps you had a medical emergency or there was a natural disaster that made it impossible for you to make court. Or perhaps the court sent your notice to the wrong address at no fault of your own.
4. Could I also be charged under Vehicle Code 40508 VC?
Vehicle Code 40508 VC is the California statute that says it is a crime if you fail to appear in court for a traffic ticket.
A prosecutor must prove three things to successfully convict you under this statute. These are:
- you received a traffic citation,
- in connection with the citation, you signed a written promise to appear in court (usually traffic court), and
- you then willfully failed to appear.10
A violation of VC 40508 is charged as a California misdemeanor. The crime is punishable by:
- up to six months in county jail,
- a fine of up to $1,000,11 and/or
- suspension of your driver’s license.12
Additional resources
For more in-depth information, refer to the following:
- Systemic Failure To Appear in Court – University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
- Behavioral nudges reduce failure to appear for court – Science.
- Reducing courts’ failure-to-appear rate by written reminders – Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.
- An Experiment in the Law: Studying a Technique to Reduce Failure to Appear in Court – Court Review.
- An Exploratory Assessment of Race and Gender-Specific Predictors of Failure to Appear in Court Among Defendants Released via a Pretrial Services Agency – Criminal Justice Review.
Legal References:
- California Penal Code 1214.1 PC. The language of the statute reads as follows:
1214.1. (a) On or after July 1, 2022, in addition to any other penalty in infraction, misdemeanor, or felony cases, the court may impose a civil assessment of up to one hundred dollars ($100) against a defendant who fails, after notice and without good cause, to appear in court for a proceeding authorized by law or who fails to pay all or any portion of a fine ordered by the court or to pay an installment of bail as agreed to under Section 40510.5 of the Vehicle Code. This assessment shall be deposited with the county treasurer as provided in Section 1463.001, and transmitted to the State Treasurer for deposit into the General Fund.(b) (1) The assessment imposed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not become effective until at least 20 calendar days after the court mails a warning notice to the defendant by first-class mail to the address shown on the notice to appear or to the defendant’s last known address. If the defendant appears within the time specified in the notice and shows good cause for the failure to appear or for the failure to pay a fine or installment of bail, the court shall vacate the assessment.
(2) Payment of bail, fines, penalties, fees, or a civil assessment shall not be required in order for the court to vacate the assessment at the time of appearance pursuant to paragraph (1). Payment of a civil assessment shall not be required to schedule a court hearing on a pending underlying charge.
(c) If a civil assessment is imposed pursuant to subdivision (a), no bench warrant or warrant of arrest shall be issued with respect to the failure to appear at the proceeding for which the assessment is imposed or the failure to pay the fine or installment of bail. An outstanding, unserved bench warrant or warrant of arrest for a failure to appear or for a failure to pay a fine or installment of bail shall be recalled prior to the subsequent imposition of a civil assessment.
(d) The assessment imposed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be subject to the due process requirements governing defense and collection of civil money judgments generally.
(e) Each court and county shall maintain the collection program that was in effect on July 1, 2005, unless otherwise agreed to by the court and county. If a court and a county do not agree on a plan for the collection of civil assessments imposed pursuant to this section, or any other collections under Section 1463.010, after the implementation of Sections 68085.6 and 68085.7 of the Government Code, the court or the county may request arbitration by a third party mutually agreed upon by the Administrative Director of the Courts and the California State Association of Counties.
- See same.
- See same.
- California Penal Code 1320 PC.
- See same.
- California Penal Code 1320.5 PC.
- California Penal Code 1320 PC.
- California Penal Codes 1320 and 1320.5 PC.
- See same.
- Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (“CALCRIM”) 2240 – Failure to Appear (Veh. Code, § 40508a).
- California Penal Code 19 PC.
- California Vehicle Code 13365 VC.