Cannot make court appearance/Unable to go to court

The first court appearance is usually the arraignment. If you do not have an attorney, and you fail to appear at your arraignment, the judge will almost certainly issue a warrant for your arrest.

At the arraignment, you are provided with the charges against you, and the judge asks you how you plead. If you are unable to appear at your arraignment, you can hire an attorney to go to court for you, in most cases. Usually, an attorney can appear for you even if you are out on bail. The attorney will then attend court and enter a plea of not guilty on your behalf. The attorney will receive the criminal complaint, which is the document listing your charges and the dates the crimes were alleged to have occurred. As long as the attorney appears for you at the arraignment, the judge will not likely issue a warrant.

You must make sure the attorney knows your correct court date and time when you hire him. Even if you hire an attorney to appear at your first court date, you could still receive a warrant for your arrest if neither you nor your attorney appears.
Once you have an attorney, it may not be necessary to attend all court appearances. Whether you personally need to appear depends upon the type of hearing and the judge's order. If you already have an attorney and cannot attend court, you should immediately contact your attorney and be prepared to give him detailed reasons why you cannot make your court appearance. Be ready to provide any paperwork that supports your claim that you cannot be in court.