skip bail
To intentionally not appear in court after having been released on bail, which is a security paid to allow one to avoid imprisonment until one appears in court. Failing to appear results in the forfeit of one's bail. The worst thing you could do is skip bail—then you'll be a fugitive and everyone will think you're guilty.
skip bail
Also, jump bail. Fail to appear in court for trial and thereby give up the bail bond (paid to secure one's appearance). For example, I can't afford to skip bail-I'd lose half a million, or We were sure he'd jump bail but he finally showed up. This idiom uses skip and jump in the sense of "evade". The first dates from about 1900, the variant from the mid-1800s. Also see make bail.