In most instances, the prosecuting attorney will consent to a case being rescheduled if a legally recognized excuse is submitted. Cases are scheduled by court order, but the court will usually permit a case to be rescheduled in these instances. Some examples of legally recognized excuses are: verifiable proof of the defendant’s hospitalization (not just an E.R. visit) or proof of the defendant’s incarceration on the court date. If you have a legally recognized excuse, you can send it to the prosecutor assigned to your case. If the excuse qualifies, your case will probably be rescheduled.
The consequences for not appearing in court on the date your case is scheduled are severe. They include (1) suspension of your driver’s license by the Department of Driver’s Services (DDS), (2) issuance of an arrest warrant, or (3) both. At the end of every court calendar, all cases listed to appear on that day are reviewed. All cases with no appearance by the accused or lawyer for the accused are marked as a Failure to Appear (FTA). Notices of FTA are sent to DDS and/or bench warrants are signed and sent to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office for execution.
Call the Office of the Solicitor General and ask to speak with the prosecutor assigned to your case. If the prosecutor is unavailable when you call, please leave ONE voicemail message and then allow 72 hours before you call again. The prosecutors in the Office of the Solicitor General handle hundreds of cases each week, so please speak slowly and clearly in your voicemail, and spell your name. The prosecutor will contact you to discuss your rights and your options for curing the FTA.
The Clerk of State Court issues all of the court notices for every case. It is your responsibility to make sure that the clerk’s office always has the most up-to-date contact information for you. Since it is not legal to forward court mail, change of address forms from the post office WILL NOT WORK. To change your address in the court’s record, you must submit notice in writing to the clerk’s office. If you are participating in the Solicitor General’s Pretrial Diversion Program, you are also responsible for notifying the diversion coordinator of your new address.
Those people who have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus and are under quarantine per physician’s order will be issued a rescheduling order with new court date upon receipt of verifiable documentation of infection and quarantine. Verifiable documentation includes a medical excuse from the treating medical professional on the letterhead of the medical facility. This documentation should be sent to the Office of the Solicitor General before the date and time you are to appear in court since calls received on the day you are to appear in court may not be received until the end of the court day, after FTA and bench warrants have been issued. Those who suspect that they have been exposed to the Coronavirus but do not have a confirmed positive test or physician’s quarantine order are required to report to the security check-point in the courthouse for scan and release. Failure to provide verifiable documentation of infection or to have a scan and release performed by court security will constitute a Failure to Appear.
