Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

There is a five-day delay on this site, so the question you submitted on February 16 did not reach us until just now. There was no way we could respond by the 18th as you asked.

The third and fourth charges you list are the drunk driving charges, but the first and second are more serious. The first is for manufacturing and/or possessing for sale one (or more) of several types of illegal weapons. The second is for illegally trying to pay or receive money to arrange the placement or adoption of a child. That is why his bail is so high; a mere second drunk driving arrest would not account for a $223,000 bail.

What you portray as a simple mistake after breaking up with his girlfriend seems to be much more than that. At a minimum, the authorities believe it is more than that.

Moreover, your nephew is facing much more than the loss of his driver's license. He could be imprisoned for quite a while. Since he probably had a court date on the 18th, my guess is that you know these things by now.

Your nephew needs a lawyer immediately. If he can't afford to hire one privately, perhaps you and other family members can help. Otherwise he should get a public defender. He is in serious trouble and should not even think about trying to represent himself.