Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

work release

hi.my wife is 20 now and was sent to jail for a week in califorinia when she was 17.she says she stole a car and was picked up.when she went to court her charges where dropped from a felony to a misdemeanor and she was released on a work release program.she says she did that for like a week or so but had to move from that part of california to another becuase she was constantly getting beat up by her ex.she says she tried to call and even tried to turn herself in and explained what happened but they could not find her in the system.so she thought eveyrhting was ok.we recently moved to another state and were pulled over for speeding.the cop told her that there is fine she has to pay and theres a warrant out for her in california becuase i guess she didnt finsh the work release.i would like to know if we were to pay the fine would they allow her to finish the rest of the work release time here in a different state or would they make her come back to cali and go to jail


Asked on 9/09/08, 9:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: work release

If she has a warrant, then she has to go to court where the warrant was issued, turn herself in on the warrant, and then try to negotiate with the judge on what penalties he will impose for her failure to comply with her probation terms. She faces the potential of being taken into custody and returned to jail/prison as original sentenced. It may be possible to convert the time into a fine, probably substantial. Judges understandably don't like people that flee the state to avoid their sentence terms. A 'shift the blame, it's not my fault' explanation is not going to fly too high. Most people hire an attorney to come represent them, and speak for them, to minimize the risk of prison or jail time; it shows you take it seriously, finally. If this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me if serious about getting counsel. If she doesn't clear the warrant, she faces arrest anytime she comes in contact with law enforcement. I'm surprised she wasn't taken into custody this time; they weren't doing their job.

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Answered on 9/09/08, 7:39 pm


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