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While we are NC licensed attorneys, and represent clients in a wide variety of matters, Reset My Courtdate is designed to help those who may not want to hire a lawyer to "resolve" their case, rather they want assistance only to reset a missed Court date and have a chance for a "do-over."
General Information on Missed Court dates:
When a defendant (the person charged) misses a Court date for a minor traffic offense, the Clerk of Court enters into the record a notation that the defendant "Failed to Appear" for Court. The notation for "Failure to Appear" is typically listed in Court records as an "FTA." When an FTA occurs, there are a couple of things that happen immediately and a few things that happen over the period of a few weeks. The Clerk's notation in the Court's computer system usually occurs right away (certainly by the end of the day on which the defendant failed to appear).
Entry of the FTA begins a process with several consequences, depending on the charge for which the defendant failed to appear. In some cases, the Judge in the Court may issue an Order for Arrest ("OFA"), sometimes called a "Bench Warrant" for the arrest of the non-appearing defendant. That may seem like a serious consequence for not going to Court to resolve a traffic ticket but Court proceedings are very serious matters and it's better to know now that such a consequence can and does happen every day. Generally, OFA's are not issued for minor traffic offenses, although, they do seem to happen frequently when defendants are charged with registration violations, so keep that in mind.
All of the following criteria MUST be met in order for your case to qualify for our review:
Your case MUST be an infraction or misdemeanor traffic offense which was set for hearing in Wake County, NC District Court, not more than ten (10) days prior to our receiving your Reset Application;
You MUST NOT have missed any Court date for the offense charged (or any other charge) or have any outstanding FTA's in ANY case;
Your missed Court date MUST have been the first setting for the case, and it MUST have been scheduled in District Courtroom 101, Wake County Justice Center in Raleigh, North Carolina (Sometimes this Court is referred to as "Disposition Court"); and
Your case MUST be one defined as a "waivable offense" under NC Statutes and the Wake County, NC Local Rules of Practice (A list of "waivable offenses" can be found here) Please note that more serious cases, such as Driving While Impaired ("DWI") or Driving While License Revoked ("DWLR") are termed "mandatory appearance" or "non-waivable offenses," and are NOT cases that can be reset using this service! (A list of "mandatory appearance" or "non-waivable offenses" can be found here).
What we do...
THIS IS NOT A CONTRACT FOR LEGAL SERVICES
Terms of Service and Definition of Conditional Limited Engagement:
"Reset My Courtdate" is NOT for every case, nor every County, nor every Courtroom. Therefore, you must truthfully, completely and correctly answer some questions for us to determine IF your case is one for which we may offer this service. IF YOUR CASE IS ACCEPTED AFTER OUR REVIEW, WE WILL EMAIL TO YOU AN ENGAGEMENT LETTER (aka "Contract for Legal Services") AT THE TIME WE SEND AN INVOICE FOR LEGAL SERVICES.
If you hire us within the first ten (10) days following your missed court date (or your "FTA");
if we confirm, pursuant to the Rules of Professional Conduct, that our firm does not have a conflict of interest in representing you;
if we accept your case for representation;
if you timely provide all requested information in the Reset Application and your responses are truthful and complete;
if you receive, execute and timely return to us our Engagement Letter ("contract for legal services");
if you receive, execute and timely return to us your Waiver of Appearance ("Waiver");
if you receive, execute and timely return to us any Related Documents we deem necessary for your representation in the case ("Related Documents"); and
if you pay all fees associated with our services via the electronic invoice we send you,
Then, within two (2) days of our receipt of the executed Engagement Letter, Waiver of Appearance and Related Documents (if any), together with your full payment for our services, we will:
Prepare a Motion on your behalf related only to the submitted case and based on the answers provided in your Reset Application;
Make a limited appearance on your behalf in Wake County, NC District Court to file the Motion To Strike the FTA for the case and recall any Order For Arrest associated therewith, and request the Court to continue your Court appearance one (1) time, to a date approximately thirty (30) days beyond your missed court date, said date to be selected solely by the Court (or the District Attorney);
After the Court has ruled on your Motion and notified us by mail, (usually within approximately twenty (20) days from the filing date of the Motion) we will communicate to you by email (at the email address you provided) whether the Motion was granted and if so, the new Court Date set by the Court for your case. In the event your Motion is not granted, we will explain to you the reason provided by the Court for denial of the Motion.
The engagement contemplated in this web page information is limited in scope to the service of preparing and presenting a Motion to Reset your Court date. Unless you contract with us separately and under an additional and separate Engagement Letter, we will not appear on your new date or at any other time to represent you in the matter submitted or any other matter, nor are we responsible for any court costs associated with your case or it's resolution. If you have any questions concerning these Terms of Service or of this Definition of Limited Engagement, please call (919) 831-8901 to resolve them before sending the Reset Application.
What we don't do...
Reset My Courtdate and the services described here are, by design, very specific. The Reset Application only contemplates preparing and filing a Motion to reschedule a missed Court date and nothing further.
If you have a question or need legal services other than those described here, call us (919) 831-8901 to set up a consultation, we are happy to help guide you in the right direction.
By completing and submitting the Reset Application, you are certifying to us and to the Court as follows:
1) that you are the person charged with the offense and you understand and accept all Terms of Service and the Definition of Limited Engagement;
2) that you are charged with a "waivable offense" as defined on the NCCOURTS.gov website;
3) that your case was set, for the first time, in the "disposition court" or "Courtroom 101" in the Wake County Justice Center, Raleigh NC, Wake County, not more than ten (10) days prior to the date you are submitting your Reset Application; and
4) that you agree to abide by the Terms of Service and Definition of Limited Engagement, together with any terms not inconsistent herewith, in your Engagement Letter and Related Documents (if any) which will be emailed to you upon our acceptance of the representation for the case submitted.
If you accept all Terms of Service and Definition of Limited Engagement and you wish to proceed, complete the information requested in the Reset Application at the tab above. By transmitting the Reset Application to us, you are consenting to and requesting all actions we undertake related thereto and consistent therewith.
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