Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Extortion

First save the message on the answering machine. You need to check the file on which the warrant was issued. The warrant may be based on something other than assualt. Further I don't know who left the message, but once the police become involved in a case the police have the discretion as whether or not to take the case to the District Attorney. Once the case is taken to the DA then the DA determines whether or not to file a complaint. The alleged victims have little to say about the case after the police become involved.

Every warrant must be signed by a judge. I doubt any judge would sign a warrant unless there was sufficient allegations to support it, and those allegations would have to supported by facts.

There are only a limited number of charges which could result in a car being impounded. Assualt is not one of them. Except perhaps if it was alleged that the car was used as a weapon, or the assualt occurred in the car. It could then be taken as evidence.

Re: Extortion

It is hard to post an adequate reply to this question without more facts. What type of assault allegedly occured? What was the warrant for? Why was the car impounded?

Possibly the car was involved in an assault, or an assault took place in the car and evidence needs to be gathered. If a warrant has already been issued then it is very likely that the victim has already contacted the authorities. In a criminal actions it is the District Attorney who decides whether a case moves forward not the victim. The situation sounds very serious. You should contact an attorney immediately.