Here’s What to Do If You’re Arrested in Stamford or Norwalk Connecticut for Failure to Appear in Court

• Charges for Failure to Appear in Stamford or Norwalk Court can be misdemeanors or felonies.
• Even Failing to Appear in Court for a speeding, cell phone or marijuana infraction ticket is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail.
• FTA / Failure to Appear charges must result from your willful failure to appear to court.
• Medical emergencies, being incarcerated, and not being properly notified of your court date are valid defenses.
• Before you get booked, fingerprinted and photographed for an FTA / Failure to Appear arrest in Stamford or Norwalk, your top Connecticut FTA criminal lawyer can possibly reverse and vacate your arrest warrant.

Do I Need to Hire a Lawyer for a Connecticut FTA Failure to Appear Warrant?

Yes, especially if you want to try and get the arrest warrant reversed or “vacated.” As any of the best Stamford criminal defense lawyers can explain, you and your lawyer can actually go back to court during the criminal short calendar docket and ask the judge to undo, reverse or vacate the arrest warrant for Failure to Appear Second under CGS 53a-173. It’s an uphill battle, but the Superior Court judges in Stamford and Norwalk Connecticut are fair-minded and always willing to listen to your lawyer’s legal and factual arguments.

You can follow this link to learn more defense strategies for fighting Connecticut FTA arrests.

Do I Need to Burn the Accelerated Rehabilitation Program for an FTA in Connecticut?

Not necessarily. Your top Connecticut FTA criminal attorney lawyer may be able to persuade the state’s attorney (also called the prosecutor) to resolve your case without having to burn your AR / Accelerated Rehabilitation Program. This means you will not have to waste your one-time get-out-of-trouble first time offenders program on a CGS 53a-173 Connecticut Failure to Appear charge.

Community service, charitable contributions to the Victim’s Assistance fund, a clear criminal record, and even an impressive resume may be enough to resolve your case without AR, especially if your Connecticut failure to appear charges were not flagrantly willful.

How Do I Know if There’s an FTA Arrest Warrant for Me in Connecticut?

You can check online by visiting the FTA section of the Connecticut judicial website. You can type in your name into the website to see whether Stamford, Greenwich or Norwalk Police put your warrant in the statewide system. They don’t always do this.

You can also call a top Greenwich or Stamford Connecticut criminal defense attorney who can call the clerk’s office or local police department to find out if the judge issued a bench warrant for your arrest for Failure to Appear Second Degree CGS 53a-173. Your lawyer will also be able to tell you how much the new bond / bail amount will be for your failure to appear in Stamford or Norwalk Court.

Contact a Connecticut FTA / Failure to Appear Defense Attorney Today

The team of criminal defense attorneys lawyers at the Mark Sherman Law Firm will aggressively defend your Connecticut FTA / Failure to Appear First and Second Degree charges. If possible, we will get the FTA bench warrant vacated in Stamford or Norwalk Superior Court. If not possible, we will work aggressively to attempt to get the FTA charges dismissed.

You can click here to read 5-star reviews from hundreds of our former clients who have described their experiences with our law firm on the certified Avvo.com website. Then contact us today at (203) 358-4700. We’re available 24/7 to take your call