If you fail to appear in court when scheduled to do so you will be defaulted. This may or may not be your fault but regardless you can assume that if you are in default an arrest warrant has issued. So naturally, when you finally do appear in court you can expect that the issue of bail will arise and you will have to convince a judge to release you or to set an affordable, modest bail. Default warrants and bail hearings in Massachusetts go hand in hand. This article looks at some issues associated with both and how you can help yourself when you are in default on a criminal case.
There Is No Substitute For An Experienced Lawyer
Your best weapon in your fight for freedom is an experienced criminal defense lawyer. You need someone who has handled matters just like yours on multiple occasions and with great success. Preparation for these matters can take time and might require some patience. Your lawyer might want to call the detectives handling the case or talk to the district attorney prosecuting you to let them know in advance the reason for the default. For example, if you defaulted on a summons your lawyer might be able to show the prosecution that you never received any papers. You might have moved or the address on the summons might be wrong. A roommate may have discarded the notice without telling you about it, believing it was nothing important. Or perhaps you were on vacation or out of the country when the summons was issued and you didn’t learn about the mandated court appearance until you returned. Lawyers familiar with the judges, the prosecutors and the system can best assure removal of your default and a personal recognizance or reasonable order of bail.
Default Removed On Indecent Assault and Battery Case and Bail Set At Personal
An example of how to handle these situations is as follows. We were recently retained on an indecent assault and battery case. The prosecution alleged that our client had inappropriately fondled a young teenage girl. Sexual assault detectives investigating the matter unsuccessfully tried to locate and interview our client. Frustrated by this and satisfied by the victim’s representations, the police filed a complaint and summonsed our client. He never appeared on court on the scheduled arraignment. He was defaulted. The defendant’s son, who has the same name, was pulled over for a motor vehicle offense. A background check revealed a default warrant with his name on it. He was arrested and released when the police recognized that this man was thirty years younger than the accused. The man told his father about the situation. The man retained us. The reason he was in default was because the police had the wrong address on the summons. Similarly the home they went to to interrogate our client was the wrong address. This all explains why he defaulted. We called the district attorney and the detective on the case. We explained the situation and brought our client into court. The district attorney, detective and judge all agreed that the default should be removed and bail set at personal recognizance.
Nearly Thirty Years of Successful Criminal Defense Experience
For almost three decades Attorney Stephen Neyman has been defending the accused and winning cases. We are exclusively a criminal defense law firm. Call us at 617-263-6800 to discuss your case. We know that we can help you.