MINNEAPOLIS CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY
For many, being charged with a crime is terrifying. It makes your future wildly uncertain. Will you go to jail? Can you get a job after your potential conviction? What will your family think of you? All of these questions can trigger something in a person, something instinctual that tells them to run. However, if you make an attempt to flee from your criminal charges, it essentially ensures that you will face heavy punishments for it.
If there is one piece of advice that every criminal defense attorney will give, it is that you should never run. It hurts your case, it will result in restricted movement, and it will have consequences. However, if you are considering fleeing your upcoming criminal trial, what exactly will happen to you when caught?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RUN?
Unless you are probation or parole, it is unlikely anything will happen after you run until your court date comes up. When you miss your court date, the judge will likely issue a warrant for your arrest. If it was court for something like a traffic ticket, the police may not actively pursue you. However, for most of the more serious crimes, you will find police on the lookout.
Furthermore, if you run and were out on bond, the bond will be revoked. This means if someone put their house up as collateral, the court will now own that house. If someone put $10,000 up for your bond, the court will now keep that instead of returning it.
However, the biggest consequence of running from your criminal case is the new charges. Now a judge will be more likely to go hard on you in your current criminal case, meaning maximum punishments are more likely due to your disrespect of the legal system. However, missing your court date is a new charge in and of itself. The punishment is typically fines, though jail time may result if you were very seriously running, such as trying to leave the country.
Once you have been caught after running from your trial, you should expect to be detained for the remainder of it. Certainly the aspect of losing their bond keeps many from running, but so, too, should the prospect of spending the entirety of your trial behind bars instead being free.
FUTURE COMPLICATIONS
If you fled from your criminal trial, you should expect to be detained, face new charges, and less lenient punishments for your actual crime. Unfortunately, having a charge for absconding from a criminal trial on your record is not a good thing. It can have far-reaching future implications, especially if you are charged with new crime later.
If you are released on parole for good behavior, you can expect to be watched very closely so you do not run. Any little mistake, such as not picking up when a parole officer calls, could be seen as absconding and breaking your parole.
However, more worrying is if you have new criminal charges later. If they see that you attempted to run from past charges, you may find your movement restricted even if you learned your lesson. You will be classified as a flight risk and may be detained with a wildly high bail just so you cannot get out and potentially flee again.
If you have been arrested and now face criminal charges, you don’t need to run. What you do need is a skilled criminal defense attorney. The Speas Law Firm can help you with your case, and you need only to contact us today. Even if you can’t make your court date, in some instances, we may be able to help you get it rescheduled. However, missing a court date altogether for any reason is never the right choice.