Will I be arrested if I missed my court date?

Anytime you willfully fail to appear in court as ordered you run the risk of going to jail. Additionally, failure to comply with the terms of your probation (failing to enroll in your DV classes) is a violation of your probation that can also land you in jail. Your failure to appear in court only served to enhance the problem. If you really couldn't enroll because of financial issues, then the judge will most likely not give you a hard time about it. However, failing to appear was not the answer. So what do you now: 1) hire a lawyer to appear in court to recall the warrant and get you an extension of time to enroll in the DV classes or 2) appear in court by yourself ASAP and explain the situation to the court. I would suggest option 1. If, however, you choose option 2, you should try to get enrolled in the classes beforehand if possible. Also, be advised that the way most people get arrested on bench warrants is by being stopped for a traffic citation. So be careful if you are still driving. If your kids are with you when you are stopped, this will be a problem. I hope this answer was helpful. Good luck.

I don't know if you will be arrested, no one does, but you can be arrested if they issued an arrest warrant when you did not appear. Typically, at least in this county, if you show good faith by making an appearance to clear the warrant, and show up with completed paperwork, the court might exercise its discretion and recall the warrant. It would depend on many other factors such as if you have failed to appear in the past, and / or your criminal history.

Go to court as soon as you can. If you have contact with the police before going to court you will go to jail. Bring in all your papers be polite and sorry and you should be okay.

If you appear in court before you are arrested you likely will not be remanded to custody.

If you have a public defender let him/her deal with it. If you have paid whatever the DV classes want you should get a note from them and show it to the judge. He is not going to screw you around for being a few days late unless he is a total pig (as, unfortunately, most are).

Though it depends heavily upon your jurisdiction (what County your case will be heard in), you will almost certainly not be taken into custody. Calendar your case, take in several copies of your documents (one (or the originals) for the Court, one for the District Attorney, maybe one for the Probation Department... it depends how things are run where you are). The warrant will be recalled and quashed. You will be re-referred to the Domestic Violence program. Tell the Court you were trying, you were in constant contact with the program, but as a single, struggling mother, you just could not come up with the money in time.

Yes, there is now a warrant for your arrest. For you to handle this, you must turn yourself into the court, with or without an attorney, and try to negotiate a plea bargain on the warrant and new Failure to Appear charges, and renegotiate any outstanding charges. Doing so voluntarily will result in a better outcome than you being brought in cuffs to court after arrest on the warrant. That will happen if you come in contact with law enforcement or customs anywhere in the US. Effective plea-bargaining, using whatever legal defenses, facts and sympathies there may be, could possibly keep you out of jail/prison, or at least dramatically reduce it, and may enable you to get your probation and programs reinstated. If this is a felony, the defendant must be personally present at every court hearing and appearance. If this is a misdemeanor, the attorney can appear in court without the defendant being present, and any plea bargain deal could be handled by notarized paperwork. While this isn't a 'capital case', you certainly face potential jail and fines, so handle it right. Unless you're competent to effectively represent yourself in court against a professional prosecutor trying to put you in jail, most people hire an attorney who can. If serious about hiring counsel to help you in this, and if this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me.

The best thing to do is to go to the criminal clerk's window immediately. Bring your court documents with you. Tell them you missed court, and want to "add yourself to calendar" for bench warrant return and proof of enrollment in domestic violence class.

Better to get an attorney, who can appear on your behalf (without you). The advantage of doing this is obvious; if you're not there, the Judge cannot take you in custody, at least not right then and there. This sounds like something that is relatively minor, since it only involves getting an extension, so the chance that an attorney can successfully recall the warrant and get the Judge to grand an extension is quite good.