What Happens If a Person Misses a Court Date on a California Traffic Court Case?
A. Missing a court date is never a good idea, but exactly what happens after a missed court date depends on the charges. When a person fails to pay a fine or misses a traffic court hearing (or they think you missed one) – the court generally does 3 things: 1) they issue a bench warrant; 2) charge the person with a new misdemeanor crime (for example, Failure to Appear under Cal. Vehicle Code 40508a); and 3) they place a hold on the persons driver’s license under California Vehicle Code section 40509.5. The 40509.5 hold then results in a suspension of a persons license by the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is known as the “40509.5 holds” seen on many court web sites. Most states will honor a CA DMV suspension and will suspend a drivers license in their state based upon the CA DMVs action. This is the case in at least the following states: NV, CO, FL, AZ, AK, and others. Some courts, such as the San Bernardino County Superior Court, will routinely suspend a drivers license and issue a
