Change your Court Date

Sometimes things come up and we can’t make it to the court dates chosen by the court itself. There are unavoidable circumstances that may arise, such as family emergencies, health problems, or something else of that nature. One thing that can be of great assistance to you when this type of problem arises is the use of dockets. Court dates can be changed, they are not set in stone. Dockets are basically calendars which will show the viewer what cases or hearings are coming up in the near future. This way, when court dates are inconvenient for people, they can check these dockets to find a date that would better suit their own schedule. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts for changing court dates. Dockets are there for public viewing, but there are some rules you should follow.

DO make sure that if your court dates need to be changed, you contact the court at least two weeks beforehand. Look through the court’s dockets to see what times are available before you actually get in contact with them. Not knowing when you are available will just be a waste of time. Obviously in medical emergencies some exceptions can be made. Otherwise, do not take a chance. You do not want to get on anyone’s bad side if you are getting ready to go to court.

DO NOT try to do this more than once. The people running a court are understanding individuals. If there is a problem with the court dates they have sent you, get on the dockets and find another one. Most courts will not let you do this more than once though. So if you’re thinking about trying to take advantage of the system and asking for multiple changes to your court dates, just don’t. Dockets are not there to be abused, and you do not want to be in any more trouble than you are already in.

DO use the Internet to find dockets for your local court. Many courts have put their dockets up online for the public to browse through. If people need to change their court dates, they can simply use a search engine to find their local court’s calendar. All the other court dates will be listed on there.

DO NOT contact the court without a legitimate excuse! If you try changing your court dates because you just don’t feel like going to court that day or your favorite television show is on, you are going to get laughed at, then fined or worse. Our judicial system is not a joke or a game and they will not appreciate it if you attempt to treat them as one. Use the dockets available to you only if you have a real problem.

It is possible that somebody has an actual problem and needs to change the date of their court appearance, it happens all the time. Don’t make other people look bad by abusing the system.