If you fail to answer a summons or subpoean to appear, it is possible that you could be held in contempt of court.
Fail to appear in court for WHAT? Traffic cases: Unless it is a mandatory appearance (e.g.: DUI - vehicular homicide - hit and run - etc) )you are usually found guilty in absentia, and the fine you paid is forfeited, and points are levied against your drivers license. Failing to appear in court for a civil or criminal in answer to a court summons or subpoena: summons could subject you to contempt of court charges or obstruction of justice charges.
If the court summonses you you have to show up. on the other hand if you are requested to appear as a witness by any of the lawyers and there is no summons by the Court you can do as you like.
This is called a SUBPOENA. if you fail to appear in court after you have been subpoeaned you can be charged with contempt of court.
When a defendant fails to appear in court relating to a civil matter the plaintiff will usually be awarded a default judgment. If the person summoned is a witness in a civil matter he or she cannot be legally penalized for failure to comply. A summons is a request to voluntarily appear. A subpoena is a mandatory court order to appear and should never be ignored.
A warrant can be issued if you fail to pay a traffic fine by mail or fail to appear on the Court date on the ticket to contest the charge. Pay the fine or go to Court. Do not do neither..
if you have been arrested for the offence, have been reported for the offence and you've received a summons to attend a court hearing then you will be guilty of a further offence. You can then be arrested and detained until another hearing is schedule. This will be added to the offense list by the prosecution. In some cases you can be found guilty in your absents and a sentence handed down. If you have not yet been charged the there is a possibility that the offence of theft is yet to be fully investigated and charges brought. It would NOT be advisable to FTA (Fail To Appear) if summoned as a judge will give instructions of "contempt of court".
The lawsuit will proceed according to the established laws of the state in which it is being heard. The defendant is not required to respond to a civil summons nor to appear in court, however, failure to do so will usually result in a default judgment being entered in favor of the plaintiff.
The police will arrest you at the first opportunity. You should contact the court at your first opportunity.
The court will likely enter a default order. You won't like its terms. The court may also issue a warrant for your arrest on charges of contempt. But, if you're the petitioner, it will likely be continued.
If you received a court summons, you must attend the hearing. If you do not attend the hearing, the judge can put out a bench warrant for your arrest. Which is most unlikely in the UK as most judges will find against you as undefended for the full amount and award costs against you too. If you fail to pay, a high court writ will be issued and the sheriff will remove your goods to the value. As soon as the sheriff serves the writ all your goods are effectively his. If once your goods are inventoried you try to sell or otherwise dispose of them you are guilty of theft. Keep it simple, go to court, deal with it.
You typically will not have a licence to renew. If you fail to answer the summons they normally suspended your licence.