What are the case outcomes for Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County?

Based on 1733 cases in Chesterfield County (2025 public records), 58.0% are dismissed, 30.3% result in a guilty plea, and 10.4% end in acquittal. The median case takes 3.4 months. Individual outcomes depend on the specific facts of each case.

What is the dismissal rate for Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County?

The dismissal rate is 58.0%, based on 1733 cases from 2025 public court records. This includes judicial dismissals and nolle prosequi (cases dropped by the prosecutor).

How long does a Failure to Appear case take in Chesterfield County?

The median case takes 3.4 months. The fastest 25% resolve in 1.8 months, while the slowest 25% take 6.4 months or longer. Duration depends on factors specific to each case.

What is the conviction rate for Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County?

The conviction rate for Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County is 30.4%, based on 1733 cases from 2025 public court records. This includes guilty pleas and findings of guilt at trial.

What does the data show about charge reductions for Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County?

0.1% of Failure to Appear cases in Chesterfield County are amended to a lesser charge based on 2025 court records. The most common reduction is to Fail To Appear, Misd. Offense.

What's the difference between General District Court and Circuit Court for Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County?

Most Failure to Appear cases in Chesterfield County are heard in General District Court (1649 cases in 2025), where 58.0% are dismissed and the median case takes 3.5 months. 84 cases were heard in Circuit Court — typically jury trials, felonies, or appeals from District Court — where 82.8% are dismissed.

Does having an attorney change outcomes for Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County?

In Chesterfield County General District Court (2025), defendants with private counsel avoided conviction of the original failure to appear charge in 62.6% of cases (n=409). Defendants with a public defender did so in 54.6% of cases (n=291). Counsel type may correlate with case mix and resources; the data shows what happened, not the isolated effect of representation.

How does Chesterfield County compare to other courts for Failure to Appear?

Chesterfield County has a 58.0% dismissal rate for Failure to Appear. Visit the Failure to Appear overview page to compare dismissal rates, conviction rates, and case timelines across all Virginia jurisdictions.

What does the sentencing data show for Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County?

For those convicted of Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County, the average sentence recorded is 28 days (including suspended time). Actual sentences depend on the specifics of each case. Consult a licensed attorney for guidance on your situation.

Failure to Appear in Chesterfield County, VA

If you've been charged with failure to appear in Chesterfield County — this page shows what typically happens. Most cases (1,649 of 1,733) were heard in General District Court, where 58.0% were dismissed or dropped and the median case took 3.5 months. 84 cases moved to Circuit Court — typically jury trials, felonies, or appeals from District Court.

58.0%

Dismissal Rate

▼ vs 59.5% statewide

30.4%

Conviction Rate

▼ vs 34.7% statewide

3.4 months

Median Duration

I Outcomes

Case Outcomes — General District Court

How 1,649 General District Court cases in Chesterfield County were resolved in 2025. This is where most Failure to Appear cases start.

Exhibit · Case-outcome distribution

50.8%

31.1%

Dismissed by judge 50.8% (n=522) Dropped by prosecutor (nolle prosequi) 7.2% (n=74) Guilty Plea 31.1% Found Guilty 0.0% Acquitted 10.9%

Largest outcomeDismissed by judge — 50.8% of 1,028 resolved cases.

Source: 1,649 General District Court records, Chesterfield County, 2025 — VirginiaCourtFile.com

Exhibit · How Chesterfield County compares

Dismissal rates for Failure to Appear in this and peer jurisdictions, 2025. Peers are the highest-volume neighboring jurisdictions in the same region.

Chesterfield CountyThis page 58.0% 1,733 cases

Hanover County 35.4% 575 cases Henrico County 53.0% 451 cases Colonial Heights 40.2% 287 cases Richmond City 55.0% 266 cases

Statewide average 59.5% all Virginia

Click any peer for its full record. Bar lengths are scaled to the highest rate shown.

Filed in Chesterfield County General District Court? See the full General District Court record — charge mix, judges, and officer activity.

If your case goes to Circuit Court · 84 Failure to Appear cases in 2025

A small share of Failure to Appear cases in Chesterfield County are heard in Circuit Court — typically jury trials, felonies, or appeals from General District Court. Outcomes look different at this level.

75.9%

13.8%

Dismissed 75.9% (n=22) Nolle prosequi 6.9% (n=2) Guilty Plea 13.8% Found Guilty 3.4% Acquitted 0.0%

VCF Sentencing Outcome Index

Outcomes for 358 convicted cases in Chesterfield County General District Court (2025-2026).

Exhibit · Sentencing when convicted

34.6%

Received Active Jail

Median 10 days when imposed

● vs 34.5% statewide

$50

Median Fine

39.4% received a fine

● vs $50 statewide

0.8%

Received Probation

Median suppressed (N<30)

▼ vs 9.5% statewide

These figures describe outcomes for cases that ended in conviction in Chesterfield County General District Court. They do not predict any individual case outcome. See methodology for definitions and suppression rules.

Charge Reductions

When the original charge is amended to a lesser offense, usually through negotiation between the attorney and prosecutor.

Exhibit · Charge-reduction patterns

0.1% of Failure to Appear cases
in Chesterfield County are reduced

2 cases had their charge amended to a lesser offense.

Most common reductions

Failure to Appear Fail To Appear, Misd. Offense

1 cases · 50.0% of reductions

Failure to Appear Viol Good Behav On Misd. Off

1 cases · 50.0% of reductions

Case Duration

Time from filing to final disposition — half of cases resolve faster than the median.

Exhibit · Case duration

Fastest 25% 1.8 months

Median 3.4 months

Slowest 25% 6.4 months

II Getting Help

Does Having an Attorney Change the Outcome?

Failure to Appear cases in Chesterfield County General District Court (2025), broken down by type of representation.

Defendants with a private attorney avoided conviction of the original charge in 62.6% of cases. With a public defender, that rate was 54.6%. The most common reduction is from failure to appear to fail to appear, misd. offense.

Representation	Cases	Case dropped	Pleaded to lesser	Convicted as charged
Private attorney	409	256 · 62.6%	0 · 0.0%	153 · 37.4%
Public defender	291	158 · 54.3%	1 · 0.3%	132 · 45.4%

How to read this. "Case dropped" = dismissed, nolle prosequi (prosecutor dropped), or acquitted. "Pleaded to lesser" = the original failure to appear charge was amended and the defendant pleaded guilty to a different, lesser offense. "Convicted as charged" = guilty plea or guilty verdict on the original charge. Cases certified to a higher court, revoked, or with procedural-only outcomes are excluded. Self-represented defendants are not shown — case complexity and charge severity make a fair comparison unreliable. Counsel type may correlate with case mix and resources to afford representation; the data shows what happened, not the isolated effect of representation.

Defense Attorneys with Failure to Appear Cases in Chesterfield County

Attorneys whose primary jurisdiction is Chesterfield County and who appeared as defense counsel of record on Failure to Appear cases in 2025. Listed by case count.

Wayne Morgan 62 of 692 total Linwood Wells 56 of 844 total Russell Bowles 52 of 706 total Jose Aponte 48 of 641 total Bobbi Graves 40 of 296 total Kristen Thornbrugh 38 of 489 total A-On Rel Sriskandarajah 26 of 26 total Sandra Ulloa 23 of 242 total Erin Ranney 22 of 202 total Gregory Sheldon 18 of 473 total

Counts are each attorney's full 2025 caseload statewide. Click any name for their jurisdiction + outcome breakdown.

All Virginia defense attorneys

Commonwealth's Attorney Office — Chesterfield County

4,429 circuit court filings prosecuted by the Chesterfield County Commonwealth's Attorney in 2025. Office-level data — direct-indictment rate, disposition mix, trial activity. View office records →

III Background

Arresting Officers — Dismissal Rates

Officers whose Failure to Appear arrests in Chesterfield County are dismissed most frequently. Minimum 10 cases.

M B Resetarits 100.0% 10 cases V Aliu 100.0% 13 cases W C Warriner 100.0% 15 cases A W Ross 92.3% 14 cases S A Phillips 90.9% 15 cases

Ranking shows officers in this jurisdiction with the highest Failure to Appear dismissal rates (minimum 10 cases). Click any name for their full record.

All arresting officers in Chesterfield County

Common Questions

Statistics from public court records for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. Past outcomes do not predict future results. Consult a licensed attorney for guidance on your case.

What's the difference between General District Court and Circuit Court?

In Virginia, most Failure to Appear cases start in General District Court — that's where the 1,649 cases shown above were heard. Cases can move to Circuit Court for jury trials, felony indictments, or appeals from District Court. 84 Failure to Appear cases were heard in Chesterfield County Circuit Court in 2025, where 82.8% were dismissed and 17.2% resulted in conviction.

Can a Failure to Appear charge be reduced to something lesser?

0.1% of Failure to Appear cases in Chesterfield County were amended to a lesser charge in 2025. The most common reduction was to Fail To Appear, Misd. Offense (1 cases), followed by Viol Good Behav On Misd. Off (1 cases). Whether a reduction is available depends on the specifics of the case and is typically negotiated between the defense attorney and the prosecutor.

Does having an attorney change outcomes?

In Chesterfield County General District Court (2025), defendants with private counsel avoided conviction of the original failure to appear charge in 62.6% of cases (n=409). With a public defender, that rate was 54.6% (n=291). The data shows what happened, not the isolated effect of representation — case mix and severity vary by counsel type.

How does Chesterfield County compare to other Virginia courts?

Chesterfield County has a 58.0% dismissal rate for Failure to Appear cases. Outcomes vary significantly across Virginia courts. View the Failure to Appear overview to compare dismissal rates, conviction rates, and case timelines across every jurisdiction.

Where does this data come from and how often is it updated?

All figures on this page come from Virginia's public Case Information System (CIS) and District Court system, calendar year 2025 onward. The dataset is refreshed quarterly. See methodology for definitions, denominators, and known coverage gaps.

Cite this page

VirginiaCourtFile.com (2026). Failure to Appear Outcomes — Chesterfield County, Virginia. Based on 1,733 public court records, 2025; last updated May 2, 2026. https://www.virginiacourtfile.com/charges/failure-to-appear/chesterfield-county

Other Charges in Chesterfield County

Larceny / Theft

2,093 cases · 55.0% dismissed

DUI / DWI

1,300 cases · 11.7% dismissed

Drug Possession

1,252 cases · 54.1% dismissed

Weapons Offense

903 cases · 71.6% dismissed