Attendance at court for Defendant’s in criminal cases is mandatory, unless otherwise directed by the Judge.

If you are facing criminal charges, you will receive written correspondence which tells you that your attendance at court is required and failure to do so could be an offence under the Bail Act 1976. But what does this mean and what are the consequences of failing to attend?

The Bail Act 1976

When released on bail, whether conditional or unconditional, you will receive a ‘Notice of Grant of Bail’. Within this Notice, there is a warning: ‘You must attend court when and where required to do so. Unless your attendance has been excused at the next hearing and recorded above, you will commit an offence if you do not attend court on the date and at the time and place as instructed, as shown above or on any other date and time as directed by the court. If you do not attend when told a warrant may be issued for your arrest’.

Under the Bail Act 1976, section 6(1), failing to attend court is itself a criminal offence. Section 6 states: If a person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings fails without reasonable cause to surrender to custody he shall be guilty of an offence.

Consequences

Whilst you may be acquitted of the original offence, if you do not attend court for your hearing/ trial, a combination of three things may happen:

1. A ‘bench warrant’ is issued for your arrest;
2. You are charged with the section 6(1) Bail Act offence; and/or
3. The hearing/ trial proceeds in your absence.

The Sentencing Guidelines indicate that, should you be found guilty, the sentence imposed will be as follows:

• A financial penalty
• Maximum sentence in Magistrates’ Court: 3 months imprisonment
• Maximum sentence in Crown Court: 12 months imprisonment (6 months for offences committed at any time from 7 February to 17 October 2023)

Recent Case Law

The case of R v Abdulrahman Haddad [2024] outlines the consequences of failing to attend court.

Haddad was charged with Assault and Assault by beating, contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and was subsequently found not guilty.

He had been informed that his trial had been placed in the ‘Warned List’ – meaning it could commence at any time within a two-week period. He must be readily available, at short-notice, to come to court should his case be called on. By his own admission, Haddad had been told this information by his solicitor.

The trial was called on during the second week, however Haddad was working and could not get to court until the afternoon. Despite the not guilty verdict in respect of his original charge, Haddad was charged with failing without reasonable excuse to surrender to his bail at the appointed time.

The Judge said that Haddad had taken an ‘unreasonable risk’ and instead, had tried to falsely claim that he had never been told that the trial could begin on any day within the two-week period. He was sentenced to a 7-day custodial sentence, albeit suspended.

Although this sentence was subsequently quashed due to an unrelated legal technicality, it highlights the strict approach taken by the court in such instances.

Summary

Unless you have explicitly been advised that your attendance at court is not required, you must attend.

In some cases, we can appear on your behalf in your absence, particularly if the Defendant is a company. This needs to be agreed with us in advance, as we will need to inform the court and take your detailed instructions. However, even when attendance is not strictly required, we normally advise clients to attend, so that they can directly hear and see what is happening in their case.