Arrested on 27 year old warrant, still in jail

[cramirez85]

California

My 62 year old aunt was recently pulled over for a minor traffic violation, and when her license was run through the system they found a 27 year old warrant for child welfare fraud when she was married to her first husband. She says that she had taken care of it back then, but nevertheless she was hauled off to jail. She was put in a Santa Clara County Jail on a Wednesday (10 days ago), was brought to court that following Friday where she was told that no bail would be posted, and that the case was going to be referred to a higher court, as the judge had no jurisdiction over a case that old. She still has not been given another court date. How long can they hold her and how can we obtain more information? She is still not scheduled under the county court clerk's docket.

What's also puzzling to us is the fact that she has had several background checks run on her, in the past 4 years. Twice I ran them through a professional backgrounder, for employment purposes, and more recently for an adoption case. Each time they came back clear, so why now is this showing up and a warrant being issued?

 

[CdwJava]

How are you writing this if you are still in jail? Unless this was for a friend.

And a 27 year old warrant is still valid. But it will certainly be hard to try the person on the original charges! But - it happens. The SLA members that were convicted recently were popped on warrants thay were that old.

- Carl

 

[Son of Slam]

How are you writing this if you are still in jail? Unless this was for a friend.

- Carl, A Rural, Nor Cal. Cop Supervisor

Really pushing for that detective badge, no doubt.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

How are you writing this if you are still in jail? Unless this was for a friend.

And a 27 year old warrant is still valid. But it will certainly be hard to try the person on the original charges! But - it happens. The SLA members that were convicted recently were popped on warrants thay were that old.

- Carl

My response:

I suspect, SOS, that Carl hasn't quite gotten to passing the detective test after 3 attempts because he keeps missing hidden clues like, "My 62 year old aunt was recently pulled over for a minor traffic violation".

Those "clues", hidden in plain sight, will get ya every time!

IAAL

 

[CdwJava]

Yeesh ... what is this, 'Open mic. night at the Improv?'

- Carl

 

[CdwJava]

And, if you will note the edit time, my original post was in response to a one line question that said: "Arrested on 27 year old warrant, still in jail" ... "California"

I did not even SEE the OP's edit with all the info until this morning ... so, perhaps, someone ought to check their reading glasses.



- Carl

 

[CdwJava]

Okay ... now that the whole story has been posted ...

My 62 year old aunt was recently pulled over for a minor traffic violation, and when her license was run through the system they found a 27 year old warrant for child welfare fraud when she was married to her first husband. She says that she had taken care of it back then, but nevertheless she was hauled off to jail.

That's because the police do not have the luxury of debating the merits of a warrant in the field. They don't have all the information so are unable to make any inquiry there. And a warrant is an order by a judge to take aperson into custody. It generally begins with, "You are commanded to take in to custody ...", and thus most officers are reluctant to let someone go on a warrant.

She was put in a Santa Clara County Jail on a Wednesday (10 days ago), was brought to court that following Friday where she was told that no bail would be posted, and that the case was going to be referred to a higher court, as the judge had no jurisdiction over a case that old. She still has not been given another court date. How long can they hold her and how can we obtain more information?

They can hold her for quite some time ... though I am not sure exactly how long. You may want to get her an attorney to make sure her rights are being protected.

What's also puzzling to us is the fact that she has had several background checks run on her, in the past 4 years. Twice I ran them through a professional backgrounder, for employment purposes, and more recently for an adoption case. Each time they came back clear, so why now is this showing up and a warrant being issued?

The warrant was "issued" years earlier, obviously. It may just now be showing up because your "professional backgrounder" never found them ... and what exactly is a "professional backgrounder"?

Depending on the warrant - where it was issued and what databases it is listed on - it may not be accessable to a private employer or background investigator. It may be that the background investigator did not make any inquiry about a warrant at the local court where it was issued ...or, it was issued under another name that the investigator did not check. Who knows?

The problem now is that she has to deal with it, and while the case may not be able to be prosecuted due to the time delay, she should still have an attorney.

- Carl