Important Facts About Court Dates

A court date is a specific time slot that simply reserves the courtroom for your case. Depending on the severity of the dispute, violation, or crime a decision may not necessarily be reached on your court date because the absence of a verdict could yield multiple court dates in the future. The court date requires an appearance from both parties. However, for misdemeanors or civil cases court dates are often pushed back to strengthen a defense or delay the hearing to gather more information. Court dates are assigned by the district and are scheduled based on availability of the courthouse and the severity of the case. Typically for misdemeanors or civil cases the court date will be scheduled a couple of months following the violation or the suit. For cases that fall into these categories a court decision will generally be offered on the same day as the court date. In contrast serious violations, such as felonies, could take months or even years to reach a decision. The difference in length is obviously connected to the severity of the crime and the subject matter involved. A court decision must be correct and the severity associated yields a greater importance in regards to the decision. A failure to appear on a court date could negatively affect your court decision. In a criminal case, the court decision will be littered with significant sanctions issued by the judge. Typically a judge will impose one or two penalties when a court date is skipped. A bench warrant is generally given, which revokes the accused individual's bond at the time of the hearing.