Failure to Appear Charges in Municipal Court

The bill prohibits a person's failure to appear from forming the basis of a municipal criminal charge against the person and prohibits a municipal judge from imposing a jail sentence for a person's failure to appear. The bill adds the failure to appear and contempt of court for the failure to appear prohibitions to the list of state laws that cannot be superseded by a charter or ordinance enacted by a home rule city.

The bill clarifies that, for purposes of the bill, failure to appear includes contempt of court for the failure to appear or any other term used by a municipality to refer to a person's failure to appear at a scheduled court date.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)