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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    3

    Question Missed Court Date, No Notice to Appear

    My question involves police conduct in the State of: MD

    So previously I was issued a citation for serving alcohol to a minor and attended my preliminary hearing as instructed. Outside of court I was able to convince the DA to give me Community Service. I completed my 40 hours of Community Service but did not pay the $175 fee as I could not afford it at the time it was due.

    Apparently I had a court date scheduled recently and missed it. I never received any notification that I was scheduled to appear in court. The other night I stopped at a fast food restaurant and ate my food in the parking lot and proceeded to take a nap as I had pulled an all-nighter for my midterms the night before. Apparently an officer had seen me sleeping which caused him to run the plates of the car which was registered to my mom and seeing that I wasn't female must've called in back-up. I was awoken surrounded by several police officers and asked to step out of the car and place my hands on the hood. They ran my information and found the warrant that I did not know about and placed me into handcuffs (so tight that I still do not have full feeling back in my hands) and searched every nook and crany of my belongings. I received a citation for paraphernalia and was hauled off to jail. I was held for over 10 hours without any food, drinking water, toilet paper, or even the ability to make a phone call. I missed my first day of work and likely will not be able to return because I was unable to call and inform them that I would not be showing up before the shift started.

    My questions are:
    1- Is the state required to inform me of an upcoming court appointment?
    A- If this is improper procedure will my arrest for the warrant become unlawful?
    B- If the warrant is unlawful then is there any possibility of the paraphernalia citation being dismissed? Maybe through dismissal of evidence from an illegal search?
    C- If the warrant is unlawful can i be compensated for losing pay?
    2- Why was I held so long without the ability to make a phone call?
    3- If a suspect is injured from the direct actions of an officer is the state liable? (aka if my hands don't regain full feeling can I sue for medical/compensation?)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Missed Court Date, No Notice to Appear

    If you failed to keep the court appraised of your address, or are living out of your car, you put yourself at risk of not receiving notice sent to your last known address. Also it sounds like this wasn't a regularly scheduled court proceeding but was a hearing on your violation of your probation. It's not atypical for the first thing to be issued by the court upon being notified of a probation violation is a bench warrant, and your experience is not an atypical way to learn that you are the subject of a bench warrant. You can check the court file to see what happened.

    You were arrested on a bench warrant, and you've given us no reason to believe either that the arrest was not valid or that the search was not properly performed incident to your arrest.

    The "right to make a phone call" is something you hear about in movies and on TV, but its not a constitutional right. Also, to the extent that a right is implied by Miranda it's a phone call in the exercise of the right to an attorney, not a right to call work. When you asked at the jail, "Can I make a phone call," what were you told?

    You're getting ahead of yourself on the handcuffs. When handcuffs are put on 'too tight' it can be a form of 'street justice' against a suspect who has done something to offend an officer, but handcuffs have to be tight enough to secure the suspect. Your behavior at the scene as well as your size can affect how tight the handcuffs will be. Let's start with, how long were you in handcuffs, and on each instance you complained that the handcuffs were too tight what were you told?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Missed Court Date, No Notice to Appear

    I still live at the same address.

    Also, I did not mean to imply that I thought there was anything illegal with the conduct of the police officers.

    The question relys on the issue of not recieving notice of a court date. The warrant was for missing court. How was I to know of the scheduled court date? I know of at least one other person who has had the same issue. The initial court date I had before I began community service I was sent official notification in the mail of the upcoming court date. I appeared as instructed and there was no problems. This court date that I missed I was never aware of. Is it lawful for a court to schedule you to appear and NOT notify you? If it is NOT then is it possible to have the paraphernalia citation dismissed as the search was based upon my arrest?

    I figured as much with the phone call but I thought I'd check it out.

    I am a rather tall and muscular build so that probably was the reason for the tightness of the cuffs. However, the numbness persists and is bothersome... I'm thinking it must be nerve damage at this point. Who is responsible? If it does not disappear within the next 24-48 hours I will be seeking medical attention and as such I want my medical bills paid for! When I asked for the cuffs to be loosened I was told not to worry that they would be off soon. I understand the need to protect the officers security as well but I never resisted the least bit. The arrest was not even for a violent crime! I was handcuffed for around an hour.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: Missed Court Date, No Notice to Appear

    When you looked in the court file to see where the court sent notice, what did you find?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
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    20,594

    Default Re: Missed Court Date, No Notice to Appear

    As for the handcuffs, very often the discomfort comes not from the fact that you were cuffed, but how you set yourself in the vehicle or a chair. When placed at an angle, otherwise non-intrusive cuffs can become uncomfortable and can cut off some of the normal bloodflow. If you have suffered some form of permanent damage, and you can find a medical professional who can testify to this as fact, then you can make a claim for damages to the agency involved.

    It is common procedure to handcuff people who are arrested. The fact that a person IS cuffed tends to take the fight out of some people. In many agencies a failure to handcuff can even be grounds for discipline. I know of several officers who have been killed because they failed to cuff "non-violent" offenders. SO, I am hardly surprised that you might have been cuffed.

    I don't know how it is where you are, but out here I have found that often a court date is set at sentencing for the court to review progress (in your case, to review your community service and the payment of your fines). Is it possible that a court date was given at the original hearing and you just forgot about it?

    Also, keep in mind that by failing to pay the fine you were also in violation of your conditions of sentencing and probation, so a warrant would likely have issued anyway.

    So, you have a few things to look in to.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Missed Court Date, No Notice to Appear

    Ok I have made some calls and found out that the court had my address wrong for reasons unknown to me. I had never changed my address from the original one on file when I had recieved my notice for the initial court date. When I was arrested my address was corrected to my current address so hopefully I will not have any more problems with that.

    As for why the court date was set. I have found out that when I was referred to the Community Service program that a continuance was filed for my case and that I had simply run out of time. I think I should have recieved notice of the upcoming court date but my address was wrong for reasons unknown. My casworker never had a warrant issued or referred it back to the courts or anything. Simply the continuance had established the future court date and I was unaware. When I recieved this continuance I was not in court. I had been placing calls to the states attorney's office asking for the possibility of community service and was referred to the program and had my case continued to the court date I was unaware of.

    I still have numbness in my hands but this morning it is possibly starting to subside... hopefully it will. I don't WANT to have to see a doctor or go through the process for making a claim for damages... I just want full feeling back in my hands.

    Going to try and get everything taken care of today.

    The new citation is not in the system yet so all I can do is talk about it. The wording on the warrant I had is "FAILING TO APPEAR IN THIS COURT ... FOR HEARING OR TRIAL AFTER BEING NOTIFIED TO DO SO." Technically I was NOT notified. I understand the police arresting me for the warrant and the process I went through was all legal. But how can the warrant stand up if I wasn't notified? A clerk must have messed up my address somehow. I never changed it.... it's just frustrating. And I would never have received this new citation if it hadn't been for the warrant... There must be a way I can work this in my favor?

    Thank you all for your ideas and input.

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