Q: how can a criminal case be adjudicated without notifying the accused of the court date.
this is my 24 yr old son who is accused of several charges from filing case 12/11/15. He attended every hearing and they all were continued until in Dec 2017. the judge gave a last continuance. Since January 2nd 2018 we have been trying to find out when the court date will be. The PD who was on the case left for a new job and no one seemed to know what the disposition of the case was. Docket sheets showed a hearing scheduled for 1/7/18 which was a Sunday and when he called about this he was told it was an error. He has tried to find out ever since then till he received a call today from his new PD who advised him he has a sentencing hearing on Tues. the 23rd of Jan. So how can the courts adjudicate this case and not notify him of this?
A: A case cannot be resolved without notice to the accused. If the defendant received notice and willfully failed to appear, the court could proceed in absentia without the defendant present.
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