1381 & 1382

[pdjok8]

What is the name of your state? CA

While incarcerated at CCWF (Central California Womens Facility) I filed a 1381 (11/30/2005) to San Benito County for a $400+ fine for driving with a suspended license in 2/2003. Receiving no response - (3/15/2006) I filed 1382. On 1/7/2006 I had CCWF Record Office file "A Request For Dismissal Pursuant To CA Motor Vehicle Code Section 41500"

April 2006 I was enrolled in the CCWF PreRelease Program and the instructor ran a DMV printout for me showing that ONLY my drivers license had expired.

I paroled 5/07/2006 to San Bernardino Parole. 4/2007 my parole agent ran 2 DMV printouts to check my status as I asked him to pay for me to get my CA Drivers License. Once again, the printout showed ONLY that my license was expired.

I discharged from San Bernardino Parole June 2007 and moved back to San Benito County. I had a personal friend from Law Enforcement run a warrant check on me to make sure that I showed clear from Parole. I am clear from Parole, however; He said I have a $6,000 warrant in San Benito County for failure to pay this fine.

The only documentation I have are "Inmate Request For Interview" asking the CCWF Law Library to send me the 1381 & 1382 forms for San Benito County. They replied with the San Benito County Court House address and instructions on how to file the forms. I hand wrote on the back the dates I sent these forms to San Benito County.


How do I handle this situation?


How could I be clear to discharge from parole one week and the next week I have a warrant from a 2003 driving violation fine?

I'd appreciate hearing your opinions and advice.

Thank You

 

[outonbail]

You can start by contacting the clerk of the court where the warrant was issued to request any information they can provide and inform them of your efforts to resolve these issues while you were incarcerated. They might be able to look into the situation to see if they have any records of the correspondence you claim to have generated.
It is possible that it was issued as a result of an error on their part.

You can also contact your parole officer who should be able to look into the situation as well and verify that they were unaware of any warrant being issued for this case as it didn't come up when they ran your information through the database at the time of your release.

Were you able to obtain your drivers license back when you asked this parole officer to help you renew it? If so, this in itself should be an indication that the warrant wasn't in the system at the time because they wouldn't have issued you your license with outstanding warrants and unpaid fines.

Have you checked with the DMV to see if they have since suspended your license as a result of this warrant?

I have had a warrant issued due to a mistake made by the San Bernardino courts posting incorrect information when they were transferring all cases from the mountain court system down to the central system, as they were no longer hearing traffic/criminal cases in the mountain courts. It took me several calls and one visit but they finally did get it resolved and the warrant was taken out of the system.
I was probably fortunate to have discovered it early and on my own rather than by way of an officer running my name, or I would have probably been pulled in on it and sat in jail for a day or two until they could untangle the mess to determine it wasn't a valid warrant.
I was also able to correspond with the clerk in having this corrected so I did not have to appear before a judge as the clerk was able to go back and read the court transcripts and verify the case was dismissed.
You may be just as fortunate but the only way to find out is to start making calls.

 

[pdjok8]

You can start by contacting the clerk of the court where the warrant was issued to request any information they can provide and inform them of your efforts to resolve these issues while you were incarcerated. They might be able to look into the situation to see if they have any records of the correspondence you claim to have generated.
It is possible that it was issued as a result of an error on their part.

You can also contact your parole officer who should be able to look into the situation as well and verify that they were unaware of any warrant being issued for this case as it didn't come up when they ran your information through the database at the time of your release.

Were you able to obtain your drivers license back when you asked this parole officer to help you renew it? If so, this in itself should be an indication that the warrant wasn't in the system at the time because they wouldn't have issued you your license with outstanding warrants and unpaid fines.

Have you checked with the DMV to see if they have since suspended your license as a result of this warrant?

I have had a warrant issued due to a mistake made by the San Bernardino courts posting incorrect information when they were transferring all cases from the mountain court system down to the central system, as they were no longer hearing traffic/criminal cases in the mountain courts. It took me several calls and one visit but they finally did get it resolved and the warrant was taken out of the system.
I was probably fortunate to have discovered it early and on my own rather than by way of an officer running my name, or I would have probably been pulled in on it and sat in jail for a day or two until they could untangle the mess to determine it wasn't a valid warrant.
I was also able to correspond with the clerk in having this corrected so I did not have to appear before a judge as the clerk was able to go back and read the court transcripts and verify the case was dismissed.
You may be just as fortunate but the only way to find out is to start making calls.

Thank you so much for responding so quickly! To answer your ? - No, I did not go get my DL. I definitely will follow your advice and let you know how it goes. My original Parole Agent retired in April and I only had one check in with my new assigned agent who informed me that he was retiring in a month. I prefer not to go thru the Parole Office in San Bernardino. I'm happy to be out of the desert and its HEAT!!

I was hesitant about going to the courts here as it is Biker Rally Week in Hollister and I do not have the bail $ to get out if it went bad. I'll deal with it after the weekend!!
Once again, thank you so much. Now, I'm off to the Rally and feel more at ease since your posting!!

 

[outonbail]

Thank you so much for responding so quickly! To answer your ? - No, I did not go get my DL.

What was the reason, were you denied or just didn't follow through with what was required?

I definitely will follow your advice and let you know how it goes. My original Parole Agent retired in April and I only had one check in with my new assigned agent who informed me that he was retiring in a month. I prefer not to go thru the Parole Office in San Bernardino. I'm happy to be out of the desert and its HEAT!!

I was hesitant about going to the courts here as it is Biker Rally Week in Hollister and I do not have the bail $ to get out if it went bad. I'll deal with it after the weekend!!
Once again, thank you so much. Now, I'm off to the Rally and feel more at ease since your posting!!

Well I wasn't trying to provide you with a false sense of security in this matter. You do have a warrant out for your arrest so if you are stopped or questioned by the police and they run you, you will most likely be their guest for a couple of days or more. At least until you get to see the judge. So don't go acting a fool or get involved in any activity that would draw attention to yourself until you can contact the court and do what you have to in order to get this all resolved.
You should also realize that whenever you have a warrant out for your arrest, the judge can take you into custody right there in the court room if he is so inclined. Although many things can contribute to whether the judge would in fact do this or not, your best chances of not finding yourself in custody will happen by appearing voluntarily and showing that you are sincere in wanting to get the matter resolved. Aside from this, getting the warrant quashed and leaving the courtroom with an agreement to make payments rather than doing time can depend on many variables, including, how many chances you've already been given, the jail population and any overcrowding issues, what the DA suggests, what kind of mood the judge is in, how you present yourself etc.
So any time you are going to court when you know there is an outstanding warrant for your arrest, you should prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Like having a friend bring you so if you do get taken in you are not worrying about your car being towed or losing your bicycle that's sitting in the bike rack at the court house etc.. So take care of any urgent matters that you can't do anything about if you're in custody, like finding someone who can care for pets and watch your place until you are released.
I'm not trying to scare you, just being realistic.
Good luck

 

[garrula lingua]

1381s get kicked back and forth between the clerk's office and the District Attys Office.

No one wants to dismiss a case.

Many D.D.A.s will just dismiss the charges, given the fact that you were incarcerated and you appeared to file the 1381.

However, San Berdo's DA's Office is pretty strict.

You can first approach the District Attorney's Office and see if they'll dismiss the case based on your info (they may have the 1381 in their file).

If that doesn't work, ask the clerk to schedule a hearing on the 1381 before the Judge and explain what happened.
Hopefully, the Judge will ask the Prosecutor to dismiss & the Prosecutor will comply.

You have to appear in court, anyway, in order to have that warrant recalled and quashed.

Hopefully, you can resolve it easily, at court (without being remanded for the warrant). Bring in alll proof you have of your having done a 1381 request (you needed certified mail, return receipt requested). Bring proof of the period you were incarcerated.