missing a dui arraignment because in jail for dui?

[thebrain]

California
Fortunately this didn't happen to me, happened to a guy I work with.
He was arrested for a dui and had a court date set. He missed his arraignment and the judge issued a warrant for his arrest. He did go in, and got both the cases settled. Fast forward to September and he got pulled over for speeding, and the cops put him in jail because of the warrant for failure to show up to his arraignment was still on his record. He spent 2 days in jail while they figured things out. He told them he had all the paperwork in a safety deposit box but they didn't care.

My story: I was arrested for Dui in august 2010 I went to my arraignment and the da rejected the case before I went into the court room. I got a little slip of paper to that affect from the court clerk. What if I get pulled over and it turns out that the court screwed up a second time??? Would the cop even care if I happened to show him the little slip of paper?

I am just curious for any opinions or recommendations people might have.

 

[CdwJava]

Your first appearance might have merely been due to a continuation or no prosecution at the time. Perhaps chemical test results had not come in, or the DA was unable to present the case that day, who knows? What it did NOT mean is that your case was over and done with.

What, exactly, did the little slip of paper say?

If you were arrested for a bench warrant issued on the FTA then someone fouled up. However, even that would not result in an automatic dismissal.

 

[rebeccainak]

You can always go to your local law enforcement headquarters and ask if your case is still open and or if there is a warrant. If you fear there is a warrant I would take whatever documentation you have with you in case you are arrested. And be prepared to sit tight until they sort it out.

 

[thebrain]

Your first appearance might have merely been due to a continuation or no prosecution at the time. Perhaps chemical test results had not come in, or the DA was unable to present the case that day, who knows? What it did NOT mean is that your case was over and done with.

What, exactly, did the little slip of paper say?

If you were arrested for a bench warrant issued on the FTA then someone fouled up. However, even that would not result in an automatic dismissal.

My little slip of paper said "at this time the district attorney's office has decided to reject any filings against you"

Just to reiterate the bench warrant was not issued for me. I was just worried that if they screwed up with my friend, and arrested him on a warrant what was/should have been dismissed, then what are the chances they would screw up with me. All I have is a piece of paper in a box on my desk and I doubt that the police would care even if I showed it to them.

Another question, since the court screwed up and arrested him on a "bad" warrent could he sue?

 

[CdwJava]

Yes, it appears to be possible that the state can re-file charges against you at a later date. They have up to one year to initiate proceedings.

As to whether your friend could sue anyone, it's possible ... maybe. But, he'd have to find an attorney willing to take the case for whatever the award might be. Plus, these cases generally require that there be some malfeasance, dereliction of duty, or reckless disregard that caused the problem. It might take some work to narrow down where the problem originated. Suing the court can be a difficult thing.