Legal Question in DUI Law in California

An attorney can appear for your boyfriend (assuming the DUI is a misdemeanor and not a felony) and get the warrant recalled and plead out his case. Call my office if you have any questions (818) 334-5711. We can help take care of this for you.

Your boyfriend should contact an attorney in or near the area he received the DUI and discuss all the facts over the phone, so the lawyer can give him the best advice. If it's not a FELONY and , there are no probation violations, an attorney can resolve the entire case without your boyfriend ever coming back to California. There is an additional issue of his driving privelege that will also need to be addressed, but that's why he needs to speak to an attorney who has the credentials and experience to help him. I wish you well............ David Wallin

I disagree with both answers above. The judge has the discretion to order the defendant to appear on any "failure to appear" misdo or felony. If this is a Los Angeles or Orange County case, there is a 50% chance the judge will refuse to quash the bench warrant without your boyfriend PERSONALLY appearing.

ALL DUI's in California, where the person (foolishly) pleads guilty, involve FAR MORE than a fine. There MAY be jail time, there is always an alcohol program, probation, progress reports where he has to go back to court to show how he is doing, community service for the fine, or community labor for the jail time...

There is nothing you can do without a lawyer who handles DUI's exlcsuively. As it happens, that is all I do. If his case was in Southern California, have him call me (800) 468-2-502.

All the answers above have one thing in common and they are all correct regarding that one thing. Your boyfriend needs to hire an attorney. This is not something that can be taken care of by paying a fine.

The other thing all the answers point out is that different attorneys handle cases differently. It really depends on the facts and the financial resources of the client. As to your specific situation and if your boyfriend should take a deal or fight the case, no one will be able to tell you about that until they understand the facts of the case. In order to do that you need to discuss it with an attorney. Then the attorney needs to obtain a copy of the discovery in the case and proceed from there.

However, it is important to know that generally States will honor other States suspension of driving privileges. So if your boyfriend does not clear up the situation in California he may find his Texas driving privileges suspended.

In California DUI's are serious and they stay on the driver's record for ten years. I suggest your boyfriend find an attorney close to where the incident occurred. An example would be, if he was arrested in Sacramento County then look for an attorney that covers Sacramento County. If he was arrested in Southern California, find an attorney in Southern California that covers the county he was arrested in.

If your not sure about any attorneys use the web or call the local county bar association for that county and ask for attorney referrals for DUI's or criminal law. Good luck.

No, paying a fine won't cure this. He faces misdemeanor charges and the failure to appear (which can be a separate misdemeanor on top of things). That will require his (or an attorney on his behalf) appearing in court to have the warrant recalled.

You don't say whether this is a new case that he's never dealt with or it's a case that is already closed, but he didn't complete some part of his probation. That matters in how it gets resolved and what his options are.

Start with an attorney that routinely practices in the county where this took place.

Simply paying a fine would be just wonderful, wouldn't it?

To actual handle warrants, you must turn yourself into the issuing court, with or without an attorney, and try to negotiate a recall of the warrant[s] and a plea bargain on the new �Failure to Appear� charge. You�ll try to negotiate bail reduction or OR release. You�ll try to negotiate a plea bargain or take to trial the outstanding charges that caused the warrant. Turning yourself in voluntarily will result in a better outcome than being brought in chains to court after arrest on the warrant. That can happen if you come in contact with law enforcement or customs anywhere in the US. On felony charges, the defendant must be personally present at every court hearing and appearance. On misdemeanors, like DUI, the attorney can appear in court without the defendant being present, and any plea bargain deal could be handled by notarized paperwork. While this isn't a 'capital case', you face potential jail and fines, so handle it right. Effective plea-bargaining, using whatever legal defenses, facts and sympathies there may be, could possibly keep you out of jail, or at least dramatically reduce it. Unless you're competent to effectively represent yourself in court against a professional prosecutor trying to put you in jail, most people hire an attorney who can.

If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me.