Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: ''Self-imposed Exile''/ Interstate Extradition/ Misdemeanor DUI/ CA to VA (?

It is reasonably likely that you would be apprehended and, if that were to happen, you would likely face prison time. The sentence you describe doesn't sound harsh to me, and surely is not harsh enough to warrant the kind of risk you seem intent on taking.

DUI is a serious offense because it can so easily result in death or serious injury -- not just for the offender but for third parties as well. In most other countries a first offense for DUI is punished far more severely than is the case here in the U.S., and even by American standards your sentence seems reasonably mild.

One of the main purposes of a criminal sentence is to get the guilty party to accept responsibility for his actions and to learn to behave more responsibly in the future. Since it seems you have not gotten the point, I think your sentence is too light for the crime you committed.

Your "victimless" crime could easily have ended -- or at least ruined -- the lives of several other people, but you seem to feel that it was a trivial thing. You are not the victim of "gestapo" tactics here. Accept your punishment like an adult and learn from the experience.

Re: ''Self-imposed Exile''/ Interstate Extradition/ Misdemeanor DUI/ CA to VA (?

Thank you for your posted question.

First, please take a deep breath. You would have a warrant for failing to complete any of your terms of probation, yes, but it is unlikely that you would be extradited from another state. Most states, including California, make budget decisions on whether or not they want to go through the expense (and it is the warrant state that has to pay the transportation costs) of bringing you back. It is the rare case where this is done for a first time DUI or another misdemeanor case.

Since you were convicted, however, there is no statute of limitations on when a warrant goes away, unlike the filing of a misdemeanor case, where the prosecution has one year to bring you to trial.

I don't think it makes a difference whether you are in Nevada or Canada, for the reasons above, and yes, you can always hire an attorney, at any time, to recall the warrant and deal with your punishment then. Because responsibility and delay are some of the factors judges use in assessing your punishment, you should plan on taking care of this sooner, rather than later.

I hope that this information helps, but if you have any further questions, want more information, or feel that you need legal representation, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. I�m happy to help in any way that I can.