What Happens if You Jump or Skip Bail in Oklahoma?

Basically skipping bail or jumping bail means you have been arrested for an offense. A bond was set, and you got a bail bondsman, you paid the 10%, 12%, whatever it happens to be to the bail bondsman. You are released from jail, and then you can get a court appearance to appear in court. Skipping or jumping bail, of course, is when a person fails to appear for their court appearance. So, if your court appearance is on February 5th, you do not show, the court calls your name, no appearance, the judge will issue a bench warrant for your arrest and many times will triple your bond. I’ve seen that numerous times, sometimes held without bond upon your capture. Of course, the bail bonds company will send out people to try to find you as they’re on the hook for your bail.

And of course, if you are picked up by law enforcement or if you’re in a car that’s stopped for speeding or anything like that and they run a check, that warrant will show up and you’ll be put into custody. So, there are going to be potential financial repercussions to skipping bail and also potential repercussions to your freedom if you skip bail, with either an increased bond, more money to pay, or perhaps in some circumstances being held without bond until your case is done. So, all reasons to show up for court.

Now, sometimes there are extenuating circumstances, sometimes there is a hospitalization or an accident or something. And of course, now, if that happens, have good documentation proof of that. Take a picture of a flat tire, take a picture of yourself at the hospital, get any documents or anything written to show the court why you missed court, and give that to your attorney.

You can imagine judges have heard a million times, “Oh, my client’s not here. They said they had a flat tire.” I mean, how does anybody know whether to believe that or not? So, maybe take a picture of it, show it, date it, and help your attorney out to try to just get you a new court date with no failure to appear on the record. No increasing of bond, no being held without bond. So, the moral, basically, is to show up for court, if you can’t make it, have proof as to what happened, and give that to your attorney, so your attorney can give it to the court and do his or her best for you. If you have any questions about that, reach out to me, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer Stuart Ericson at wagonerlawyer.com.