Mistakes made

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California.

My friend was recently arrested for having a felony warrant. His wife knew nothing about that, but recalled that he had a DUI a couple of years ago that he never attended the alcohol program or paid the fine for, and he apparently had a traffic stop last year for driving on a license suspended for the DUI and also failed to appear to face those charges.

This felony warrant was for a violation of H&S 11379(A), but what is strange is there was never any arrest and the court website says the 'violation date' is back in April of this year. Looks like the district attorney went and did an exparte (?sp) hearing and asked for a warrant. Do they do that, charge someone then ask for a warrant without even arresting them on the charges in the first place? Its real confusing.

There is a hearing, well a series of hearings, tomorrow on these charges. Seems from looking over what is on the court site is he was on informal probation for the DUI and theres going to be a hearing for revoking the probation (meaning I guess jail time instead of attending the program and paying the fine? or added on to the program and the fine?), a jury trial on the driving on suspended lic charge, plus a 'pre-preliminary' hearing on the new charges. All at the same time?

His wife and friends are worried and the wife is real scared about what all this means for him, I suspect he will be doing some time and it may be a while before they even think about offering him any kind of plea bargain? What do you folks think?

Thanks.

Most of what you wrote sounds very routine.

Very often the DA will file for a warrant with felony charges when there isnt a signed promise to appear or bond.

early VOP stuff/pre prelims all naturally go together. A prelim is a formal long hearing where cops testify, so it will be a separate thing.

The only thing that is a little goofy and I'm wondering if you misread it - is the jury trial. Unless that is a completely separate trailing matter, it doesnt usually go with the others... "one of these things is not like the others"...not routine for what I'm used to.

I think his lawyer and the DA will be working very hard for a deal so you should get more info on what he is facing before it all starts.

Before I give my tea leaf reading..

What is he on probation for and has he been to prison?

StevenJ_420Law said:

Most of what you wrote sounds very routine.

Very often the DA will file for a warrant with felony charges when there isnt a signed promise to appear or bond.

early VOP stuff/pre prelims all naturally go together. A vop is a formal long hearing where cops testify, so it will be a separate thing.

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That is something we were wondering (first paragraph above). One friend was assuming that there would have to be some arrest that spawned these charges, but another mentioned it could be an informant, or something where the DA asked for a warrant and they went out to get him into custody.

VOP I guess is violation of probation? That would be for the FTP on the DUI charges and the failure to sign up and attend the alcohol offender program.

StevenJ_420Law said:

The only thing that is a little goofy and I'm wondering if you misread it - it the jury trial. Unless that is a completely separate thing, thats not usual but I suppose it could trail those other hearings??.. could be... but not routine for what I'm used to.

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That one sort of blew us away, but it says plain as day, "JURY TRIAL" on the court record. Actually, it days "PRE-TRIAL AND JURY TRIAL". Weird. All three cases have been listed as 'trailing' each other, not sure which will be held/heard first.

StevenJ_420Law said:

I think his lawyer and the DA will be working very hard for a deal so you should get more info on what he is facing tomorrow.

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His wife says that he mentioned when he called a little while ago that he's hopeful he will be let out tomorrow. I guess she told him not to get his hopes up too much. Im thinking there is no way on this Earth they are going to let him out tomorrow. Even though his friends and family are desperate for him to come home.

StevenJ_420Law said:

Before I give my tea leaf reading..

What is he on probation for and has he been to prison?

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Probation was for the DUI in late 2008. He has never done prison time, but he does have a prior conviction from early 2005 for possession, that he never did any jail time for and took care of those obligations way back then.

He's a good guy and a hard worker that fell in with the wrong crowd and we're hoping like heck there is some way to get him into treatment and back to being a productive member of society. Dare we hope?

UnsureGuy said:

This felony warrant was for a violation of H&S 11379(A), but what is strange is there was never any arrest and the court website says the 'violation date' is back in April of this year. Looks like the district attorney went and did an exparte (?sp) hearing and asked for a warrant. Do they do that, charge someone then ask for a warrant without even arresting them on the charges in the first place? Its real confusing.

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Yes, this is NOT uncommon. Usually it is as a result of an investigation naming the person as a suspect. Because of the circumstances, they cannot just go out and arrest him based upon probable cause, so they seek an arrest warrant. If charged with 11379 he is apparently being accused of trafficking in serious illicit drugs. My guess would be that they have some controlled buys into him, or have evidence of his participation in drug sales. As such, he needs an attorney ASAP ... like, yesterday.

There is a hearing, well a series of hearings, tomorrow on these charges.

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Likely the arraignment and maybe some emotions by his attorney or the state for ... something.

Seems from looking over what is on the court site is he was on informal probation for the DUI and theres going to be a hearing for revoking the probation (meaning I guess jail time instead of attending the program and paying the fine? or added on to the program and the fine?), a jury trial on the driving on suspended lic charge, plus a 'pre-preliminary' hearing on the new charges. All at the same time?

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Wait ... probation? Was he on probation for H&S 11379? If so, then that explains the warrant.

When you violate probation, the state can effectively resurrect the old charge and bring it back to life. So, if he were on probation for drug sals, then it would make sense to have a warrant for 11379.

But, if he is having a preliminary hearing, that would seem to indicate that he is being charged with a felony and unless he injured someone in a his DUI (like in a crash), DUI is not a felony and would not warrant a preliminary hearing. If the court date pending is a preliminary hearing for the 11379, then that would seem to indicate it is a fresh charge and not the old one.

His wife and friends are worried and the wife is real scared about what all this means for him, I suspect he will be doing some time and it may be a while before they even think about offering him any kind of plea bargain? What do you folks think?

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A lot depends on the details of the dope. if that is a fresh offense, he needs to talk to his attorney about possibly working out a deal to plead to possession ... he might have to give up other dealers as part of that, but it might be something to consider.

if he can get a plea to possession there are a number of possible diversion opportunities available.

Oh, and he should NOT be speaking to anyone but his attorney about any of this. Aside from his wife (assuming they are legally wed) everyone else he speaks with can be called as a witness against him.

UnsureGuy said:

He's a good guy and a hard worker that fell in with the wrong crowd and we're hoping like heck there is some way to get him into treatment and back to being a productive member of society. Dare we hope?

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He may have to give up some people in this "wrong crowd" to keep himself out of jail.

And, to clarify, he made a conscious choice to fall in with this crowd. He was not tricked into getting involved in dope sales, he did it knowing what it was all about. Now he has to pay the piper and that might include serving a little time. Maybe some time in jail and a felony conviction possibly hanging over his head will wake him up. If he successfully obtains a plea to possession, completes treatment and probation, this might not dog him for too many years. Unfortunately, the odds are not good ... but, a few people CAN leave their old lives behind and maybe he will be one of them.

He's being held because its a felony charge without disposition .. if they do dispo this case tomorrow, he'll probably be let out.

With a regular DUI he is on informal probation.. on the typical.. bad side of this, hopefully they get it down to a misdemeanor but futures are typically Formal or Prop 36... including drug testing, search waivers, probation officers, and reviews in court. He may have time to do, he may not.

Gigs up, but if he makes the right choices, he'll be fine.

CdwJava said:

Yes, this is NOT uncommon. Usually it is as a result of an investigation naming the person as a suspect. Because of the circumstances, they cannot just go out and arrest him based upon probable cause, so they seek an arrest warrant. If charged with 11379 he is apparently being accused of trafficking in serious illicit drugs. My guess would be that they have some controlled buys into him, or have evidence of his participation in drug sales. As such, he needs an attorney ASAP ... like, yesterday.

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Unfortunately there is no money available to hire a decent attorney, so he has to go with a public defender. No one who knows him understands any of this, its like he is a different person altogether getting these charges. Apparently he has insisted to his wife that he is innocent of the 11379. We won't know anything else until later today during the hearing I guess.

CdwJava said:

Wait ... probation? Was he on probation for H&S 11379? If so, then that explains the warrant.

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He was on probation for a DUI that he got in 2008. Only DUI he has ever had.

CdwJava said:

When you violate probation, the state can effectively resurrect the old charge and bring it back to life. So, if he were on probation for drug sals, then it would make sense to have a warrant for 11379.

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See that's the thing, he hasnt been busted for anything like this, ever. Like I said above the probation was for the DUI and he basically failed to pay the fine and get into the alcohol treatment program so they ordered the probation be revoked.

CdwJava said:

But, if he is having a preliminary hearing, that would seem to indicate that he is being charged with a felony and unless he injured someone in a his DUI (like in a crash), DUI is not a felony and would not warrant a preliminary hearing. If the court date pending is a preliminary hearing for the 11379, then that would seem to indicate it is a fresh charge and not the old one.

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That DUI was a misdemeanor and there was no injury or accident. This is definitely a new charge.

CdwJava said:

A lot depends on the details of the dope. if that is a fresh offense, he needs to talk to his attorney about possibly working out a deal to plead to possession ... he might have to give up other dealers as part of that, but it might be something to consider.

if he can get a plea to possession there are a number of possible diversion opportunities available.

Oh, and he should NOT be speaking to anyone but his attorney about any of this. Aside from his wife (assuming they are legally wed) everyone else he speaks with can be called as a witness against him.

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We all would love to see him give up whoever he knows in this deal, those people need to b e accountable. Hopefully he can plea to possession. He was relying on other people for a ride to jobs because he has no running car, which is why the idea of transporting stuff blows our minds. How can you get busted for transporting something when you have no way to transport it?

And to answer something above, he and his wife are legally wed, they been married about 20 years. She was told by the public defenders office to tell him that when he calls her the calls are being recorded and sent to the DA so not to say anything about the case.

CdwJava said:

He may have to give up some people in this "wrong crowd" to keep himself out of jail.

And, to clarify, he made a conscious choice to fall in with this crowd. He was not tricked into getting involved in dope sales, he did it knowing what it was all about. Now he has to pay the piper and that might include serving a little time. Maybe some time in jail and a felony conviction possibly hanging over his head will wake him up. If he successfully obtains a plea to possession, completes treatment and probation, this might not dog him for too many years. Unfortunately, the odds are not good ... but, a few people CAN leave their old lives behind and maybe he will be one of them.

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Thanks for all the advice, its better knowing what he has to look forward to. Friends and family are behind him and want to help him however we all can. We sure hope this experience straightens him out.

StevenJ_420Law said:

He's being held because its a felony charge without disposition .. if they do dispo this case tomorrow, he'll probably be let out.

With a regular DUI he is on informal probation.. on the typical.. bad side of this, hopefully they get it down to a misdemeanor but futures are typically Formal or Prop 36... including drug testing, search waivers, probation officers, and reviews in court. He may have time to do, he may not.

Gigs up, but if he makes the right choices, he'll be fine.

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We sure hope so man, thanks for all the advice and all.

I think that having to be accountable for these choices and how he behaves and governs his life will be a major deal, that probation is a good idea. Trouble with him being in jail is he's not able to make a living and support his family, they are having a real hard time with this. He is the sole support and the family relies on him.

Hopefully he is let out, and gets himself clean and straight. Thanks again.