§ 14-22-39-2 — Summons; failure to appear

(a) A conservation officer may issue a
summons for a violation committed within the view of the conservation
officer.
(b) A defendant who fails to appear as commanded by the summons
is in contempt of court.
(c) Upon a failure to appear, the court shall issue a warrant for the
arrest of the defendant.
(d) This subsection applies to a warrant issued under subsection (c)
for the arrest of a defendant who is an Indiana resident. If the warrant
is not executed within thirty (30) days after issue, the court shall
promptly forward the court copy of the summons to the bureau of
motor vehicles indicating that the defendant failed to appear in court
as ordered. The court shall then mark the case as failure to appear on
the court's records.
(e) This subsection applies to a warrant issued under subsection (c)
for the arrest of a defendant who is not an Indiana resident. If the
warrant is not executed within thirty (30) days after issue, the court
shall promptly forward the court copy of the summons to the bureau of
motor vehicles. The bureau of motor vehicles shall notify the bureau of
motor vehicles commission of the state of the nonresident defendant of
the defendant's failure to appear and also of any action taken by the
bureau of motor vehicles relative to the Indiana driving privileges of
the defendant. The court shall then mark the case as failure to appear
on the court's records.
(f) If the bureau of motor vehicles receives a copy of the summons
or a summons for failure to appear in court, the bureau of motor
vehicles shall suspend the driving privileges of the defendant until the
defendant appears in court and the case has been disposed of. The
order of suspension may be served upon the defendant by mailing the
order by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the defendant at the
last address shown for the defendant in the records of the bureau of
motor vehicles. The order takes effect on the date the order is mailed.
(g) For nonresidents of Indiana, the order of suspension shall be
mailed to the defendant at the address given to the arresting
conservation officer by the defendant as shown by the signed summons.
The order takes effect on the date of mailing. A copy of the order shall
also be sent to the bureau of motor vehicles of the state of the
nonresident defendant. If:
(1) the defendant's failure to appear in court has been certified to
the bureau of motor vehicles under this chapter; and
(2) the defendant subsequently appears in court to answer the
charges against the defendant;
the court shall proceed to hear and determine the case in the same
manner as other cases pending in the court. Upon final determination
of the case, the court shall notify the bureau of motor vehicles of the
determination upon forms prescribed by the bureau of motor vehicles.
The notification shall be made by the court within ten (10) days after
the final determination of the case, and the original copy of the
summons must accompany the notification.
[Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 14-2-9-3 part.]

Legislative History

As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.15. Amended by P.L.186-2003, SEC.65.