Ending the Criminalization of Failure-to-Appear: An Organizers’ Guide to Demanding Court Changes in the Time of COVID-19

Before COVID-19 became a global pandemic, missing a court date, a check-in with parole or probation, a day of community service, or a court-mandated treatment program could and frequently did result in people being jailed. However, during the early days of the pandemic, most states suspended or reduced in-person courtroom proceedings (either moving them online via video or postponing them to future dates), which goes to show that rescheduling appointments with the criminal legal system is possible, and that the criminalization of failing-to-appear (FTA) has always been arbitrary and merely punitive. This guide explains why it is essential to eliminate failure-to-appear and outlines demands to end the criminalization of FTA.