Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: How long will he spend in jail.

Unfortunately there is no way to accurately predict the outcome based on the information provided in your question.

Basically, your boyfriend's situation will depend on the particular set of facts involved. Even if the reason he left the state was determined to be reasonable, the questions he will face will be difficult, such as did he try to contact someone at probation to get special permission? either before or after he left the state. Why didn't he turn himself in when he returned to the state?

The situation really depends on a number of factors such as: Your boyfriends criminal past or lack of it, the district attorney, and the DA's office policy regarding violation of probation, and the Judge. However, I can tell you that your boyfriend needs an attorney in order to get an evaluation of his situation. You should start looking for an attorney in the area specializes in criminal defense and I would look for an established attorney with experience so you know they have a relationship with the DA's office.

Re: How long will he spend in jail.

There's no way for me, or any attorney here, to predict what the outcome of your case is. What might happen depends on several factors: his record, the particular facts of the underlying case, the court, the jurisdiction, the judge and the DA. Only an attorney who has access to the police reports and can discuss the case in a face-to-face consultation would be in a position to give you a guess about possible consequences.

If he's got extremely convincing evidence that he was required to leave the state without fulfilling his obligations, it may help him . . . but only up to a point. I assume this emergency didn't last for 2 solid years. Once the emergency was over, his ability use it as an excuse went away.

He was in violation for 2 years, the got picked up on a warrant, rather than turning himself in and facing things.

Depending on how much time he got initially, he may be looking at a trip to prison for the violation.