Editing Failure to appear (section)

==Criticism==

=== Definitional problems ===
Critics argue that policymakers define "failure to appear" too broadly, conflating people who intentionally flee the jurisdiction with those who miss their court dates due to forgetfulness or logistical difficulties.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gouldin |first=Lauren P. |date=2018 |title=Defining Flight Risk |url=https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/sites/lawreview.uchicago.edu/files/02%20Gouldin_ART_SA%20%28JPM%29.pdf |journal=University of Chicago Law Review |volume=85 |pages=687}}</ref> Risk-assessment tools tend to treat all FTAs the same when calculating a defendant's risk score.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gouldin |first=Lauryn P. |date=2018 |title=Defining Flight Risk |url=https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/sites/lawreview.uchicago.edu/files/02%20Gouldin_ART_SA%20%28JPM%29.pdf |journal=University of Chicago Law Review |volume=85 |pages=684}}</ref> One scholar has proposed breaking FTAs into three categories: "true flight" (intentionally fleeing the area); local absconding (remaining in the jurisdiction but refusing to come to court even if reminded); and low-cost non-appearance (failing to appear for reasons besides avoiding justice).<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Gouldin |first=Lauryn P. |date=2018 |title=Defining Flight Risk |url=https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/sites/lawreview.uchicago.edu/files/02%20Gouldin_ART_SA%20%28JPM%29.pdf |journal=University of Chicago Law Review |volume=85 |pages=683}}</ref> Critics say these types of FTAs may warrant different interventions.<ref name=":2" />

=== Causes of non-appearance ===
Scholars, activists, and practitioners have criticized federal and state laws for operating on the mistaken assumption that most FTAs reflect a conscious decision to abscond.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Fishbane |first1=Alissa |last2=Ouss |first2=Aurelie |last3=Shah |first3=Anuj K. |date=2020 |title=Behavioral Nudges Reduce Failure to Appear for Court |url=https://www.ideas42.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Behavioral-nudges-reduce-failure-to-appear-for-court_Science.full_.pdf |journal=Science |language=en |volume=370 |issue= 6517|pages=1 |doi= 10.1126/science.abb6591|pmid=33033154 |s2cid=222235406 |issn= |via=Ideas42}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Critics believe most FTAs are the product of forgetfulness or logistical difficulties—and that, if given another opportunity, a defendant will appear when requested.<ref name=":1" /> They note that a single legal proceeding can span several years and consist of multiple court dates;<ref name=":1" /> due to backlogs in some courts, defendants may wait all day for their hearings only for a judge to impose a delay.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=May 11, 2016 |title=A Nightmare Court, Worthy of Dickens |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/12/opinion/a-nightmare-court-worthy-of-dickens.html |access-date= |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Defendants who must go before a judge regularly can confuse or forget their court dates.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gouldin |first=Lauryn P. |date=2018 |title=Defining Flight Risk |url=https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/sites/lawreview.uchicago.edu/files/02%20Gouldin_ART_SA%20%28JPM%29.pdf |journal=University of Chicago Law Review |volume=85 |pages=730}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Brice |last2=Diop |first2=Binta Zahra |last3=Fishbane |first3=Alissa |last4=Hayes |first4=Jonathan |last5=Ouss |first5=Aurelie |last6=Shah |first6=Anuj |date=January 2018 |title=Using Behavioral Science to Improve Criminal Justice Outcomes: Preventing Failures to Appear in Court |url=https://www.ideas42.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Using-Behavioral-Science-to-Improve-Criminal-Justice-Outcomes.pdf |website=ideas42}}</ref> Jurisdictions nationwide have reduced FTA rates by reminding people of upcoming court hearings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baradaran Baughman |first=Shima |date=2020 |title=Dividing Bail Reform |url=https://ilr.law.uiowa.edu/print/volume-105-issue-3/dividing-bail-reform/ |journal=Iowa Law Review |volume=105 |pages=987}}</ref> In New York, an effort to redesign court summons forms and notify people of their court dates using text messages reduced FTAs by 13% and 21%, respectively.<ref name=":0" /> These interventions resulted in an estimated 30,000 fewer warrants issued over three years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fishbane |first1=Alissa |last2=Ouss |first2=Aurelie |last3=Shah |first3=Anuj K. |date=2020 |title=Behavioral Nudges Reduce Failures to Appear in Court |url=https://www.ideas42.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Behavioral-nudges-reduce-failure-to-appear-for-court_Science.full_.pdf |journal=Science |volume=370 |issue=6517 |pages=6 |doi=10.1126/science.abb6591 |pmid=33033154 |s2cid=222235406 |via=Ideas42}}</ref>

Critics note that attending court can be particularly onerous for low-income individuals. Studies have documented a lack of access to transportation and childcare as two factors driving FTAs.<ref name=":1" /> Defendants may struggle to make their court dates due to conflicts with their work, as many courts are only open during business hours.<ref name=":1" /> Researchers have confirmed a positive correlation between indigence and FTAs across racial and gender demographics.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Zettler |first1=Haley R. |last2=Morris |first2=Robert G. |date=2015 |title=An Exploratory Assessment of Race and Gender-Specific Predictors of Failure to Appear in Court among Defendants Released via a Pretrial Services Agency |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276133329 |journal=Criminal Justice Review |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=426|doi=10.1177/0734016815583350 |s2cid=145692540 }}</ref> They speculate that the logistical challenges and financial burdens associated with court attendance drove the disparities observed in their results.<ref name=":3" /> Advocates have called for transportation assistance and childcare support instead of criminal sanctions to address FTAs.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=The Bail Project: After Cash Bail |url=https://bailproject.org/after-cash-bail/ |access-date= |website=The Bail Project |language=en-US}}</ref> Advocates note that some people, including houseless individuals and people dealing with substance abuse, require additional support and that the threat of criminal sanctions is ineffective.<ref name=":11" />  

=== Warrant backlogs ===
Some scholars contend that FTAs have led to warrant backlogs nationwide.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gouldin |first=Lauryn P. |date=2018 |title=Defining Flight Risk |url=https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/sites/lawreview.uchicago.edu/files/02%20Gouldin_ART_SA%20%28JPM%29.pdf |journal=University of Chicago Law Review |volume=85 |pages=690}}</ref> In 2019, around one in seven adults had warrants out for their arrest in New Orleans, Louisiana;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Webster |first=Richard A. |date=September 20, 2019 |title=One in 7 Adults in New Orleans Have a Warrant Out for Their Arrest, New Data Shows |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/one-in-7-adults-in-new-orleans-have-a-warrant-out-for-their-arrest-new-data-shows/2019/09/20/db85a5c8-da3d-11e9-a688-303693fb4b0b_story.html |access-date=}}</ref> FTAs were responsible for over half of warrants issued in New Orleans in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ÓFaoláin |first=Sian Miranda Sing |date=September 2019 |title=NOLA Shakedown: How Criminalizing Municipal Fines & Fees Traps Poor & Working Class Black New Orleanians in Poverty |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d2ca7adab33e90001930ffd/t/5d8aed38def8834a610ffd83/1569385834213/NOLA-Shakedown-Report-FINAL-Single-Page.pdf }}</ref> A Department of Justice investigation of the police department in Ferguson, Missouri, found that a municipal court had generated thousands of FTA warrants and used them to impose fines and fees on residents.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 4, 2015 |title=Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf |website=Department of Justice}}</ref> Individuals with warrants out of their arrest may be less likely to seek educational and employment opportunities for fear of getting apprehended.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Gouldin |first=Lauryn P. |date=2018 |title=Defining Flight Risk |url=https://lawreview.uchicago.edu/sites/lawreview.uchicago.edu/files/02%20Gouldin_ART_SA%20%28JPM%29.pdf |journal=University of Chicago Law Review |volume=85 |pages=694}}</ref> They may have their driver's license revoked and cannot access public benefits.<ref name=":4" /> Several jurisdictions have taken steps to clear FTA warrants to reduce these backlogs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Dea |first=Colleen |date=January 22, 2019 |title=NJ Supreme Court Dismisses Massive Backlog of Municipal Cases and Warrants |url=https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2019/01/19-01-21-nj-supreme-court-dismisses-massive-backlog-of-municipal-cases-and-warrants/ |website=NJ Spotlight News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 27, 2020 |title=Easing the Burden of Fees and Fines During Covid-19: Brennan Center for Justice |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/easing-burden-fees-and-fines-during-covid-19 |access-date= |website=Brennan Center for Justice |language=en}}</ref>

=== Questions about FTA prevalence ===
Whether FTA rates are prevalent enough to warrant criminal sanctions has become a point of contention. FTAs are most common for lower-level, non-violent crimes: primarily in traffic court. Not all individuals who receive a traffic ticket or summons for a minor infraction realize that not attending court can lead to a warrant for their arrest.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sekhon |first=Nirej |date=2018 |title=Dangerous Warrants |url=https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5048&context=wlr |journal=Washington Law Review |volume=93 |pages=984}}</ref> For serious felonies, FTAs are relatively rare. The most recent data available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics demonstrate that 83% of felony defendants will never miss a court date.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Reaves |first=Brian A. |date=December 2013 |title=Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2009 - Statistical Tables |url=https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/fdluc09.pdf |website=Bureau of Justice Statistics}}</ref> The majority of those who miss an appearance will return to court within one year.<ref name=":5" /> FTA rates are also challenging to measure and compare. Some jurisdictions treat a single-missed court appearance as an FTA, such that a new FTA arises whenever an individual misses a court date in a single legal proceeding.<ref name=":1" /> Other jurisdictions treat all missed court appearances within one legal proceeding as a single FTA.<ref name=":1" />