Q: 20 year old bench warrent - please review additional details
20 years ago a misdemeanor bench warrant was issued from a California county and is still outstanding and was entered into a system that identifies warrants 16 years ago. The warrant was issued from a 21 year old wet reckless/DUI case with probation in the same California County. The warrant was issued for a probation violation of receiving another DUI in a different California county one year later. The DUI case in the different county included probation and the probation was completed successfully. Probation from the California County where the warrant was issued was not transfer to the other county. No ticket in the last twenty years and the person is and has been on mental health medication for several years and is seeing a psychiatrist. The mental health condition will not allow the person to appear in court and or for incarceration/jail. Can the warrant be dismissed?Any time limits? Are there rules for probation in two different California counties?May fines or jail time apply?
A:
A 20-year old warrant is as valid as a 1 month old warrant, in the eyes of the Court. The person involved needs to contact an attorney right away to untangle this mess before it becomes worse. If their mental health would be jeopardized by incarceration, an attorney will bring that to the attention of the Court, along with the other mitigating circumstances.
Without knowing more details, it's not fair to speculate as to whether fines or jail time might apply. Your attorney will do his or her best to reduce or eliminate those possibilities after reviewing the facts and speaking with the authorities.
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