Failure to Appear

Failure to appear, also called bail jumping, occurs when a defendant who has been released on bail or on their own recognizance does not come before the court as required by the conditions of that release. In the United States, penalties for failure to appear trace to the courts' historical contempt powers; the modern federal offense originated in the Bail Reform Act of 1966, which made willfully failing to appear punishable by up to five years' imprisonment and a fine, following the flight of several Communist Party leaders convicted under the Smith Act in 1951. A defendant may raise an affirmative defense that uncontrollable circumstances, such as a medical emergency, prevented their appearance, provided they did not contribute to those circumstances and appeared as soon as they ceased. Failure to appear can trigger a bench warrant for arrest and typically bars a defendant from future release on bail or personal recognizance. Studies by the Bureau of Justice Statistics have found that most felony defendants never miss a court date, and that most missed appearances stem from forgetfulness, transportation and childcare barriers, or scheduling conflicts rather than deliberate flight, prompting several jurisdictions to reduce failure-to-appear rates through court-date text message reminders rather than additional criminal sanctions.