Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
felony drug possesion/statute of limitations
I was arrested 4 years ago on felony drug possesion charges, but I never went to court because I moved out of state, I need to know two answers what is the statute of limitations on such charges,also at the time I was on S.S.I. is there anyway possible I could ever get my benefits back, they took them away after they were notified, please help !! I swear I'm clean and sober for those 4 years.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: felony drug possesion/statute of limitations
Warrants do not expire unfortunately. You will need to deal with this issue sooner or later. It would be much much better if you came before the court voluntarily rather than in a situation where some cop some day catches up with you and drags you there. It would be best if you could hire an attorney to take care of this for you. If you cannot afford a private lawyer, I would contact the office of the public defender at the courthouse where the warrant was issued.
Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.
310.273.1361
www.lentzlawfirm.com
Re: felony drug possesion/statute of limitations
The statute of limitations only applies to the filing of charges. Since charges had already been filed against you before you moved away, there is no chance that the statute has run since then. Besides, under California law the clock stops ticking when the defendant leaves the state.
I don't know the answer to your question about SSI benefits. Hopefully another LawGuru attorney will be able to answer that one.
Good luck.
Re: felony drug possesion/statute of limitations
Statute of Limitations? No way. Warrants are forever. You must go back to court to turn yourself in, and after getting the warrant recalled, then deal with this responsibly by either negotiating a plea bargain or go to trial. Your clean current history will help. Once the warrant is recalled, SSI may be reinstated. Feel free to contact me if serious about getting this handled right.
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