California Criminal Defense Blog

When people plead guilty to a California DUI charge, they usually get placed on probation. The court imposes certain “terms and conditions of probation.” Violating these terms and conditions may result in a bench warrant for one’s arrest, a probation violation, and possible jail time.

The terms of probation consist of affirmative duties and prohibitions. Affirmative duties include, for example, enrolling in and completing DUI school, and completing a MADD victim impact class. Prohibitions include refraining from breaking the law, from driving with any measurable amount of alcohol in one’s system, and from driving without proper liability insurance.

Most bench warrants get issued for people failing to complete the affirmative requirements. For example, one must enroll in the DUI school within 21 days of sentencing. Most judges require you to return to court with a “proof of enrollment” within 30 days of sentencing, and a “proof of completion” within 6 months.

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A defendant in California may file a Serna motion when the state fails to execute its prosecution in a speedy manner. The defendant must show that he's been prejudiced (harmed) by the delay. For example, alibi witnesses and other defense evidence may no longer be available. Prejudice is presumed when the prosecution delays more than one year.

There are a couple ways the prosecution can delay itself. The first is when the D.A. waits awhile to file charges, even though the D.A. has the evidence it needs. If the D.A. sits on the case long enough before filing, this can lead to an effective Serna issue for the defense.

A second type of delay is when the police fail to execute a California arrest warrant in a timely manner. Once the D.A. files charges, usually an arrest warrant is issued. The defendant typically learns of the charges when he gets arrested. But if the cops fail to arrest him, the defendant may be oblivious to the charges and thus not take steps to preserve useful evidence.

The remedy when a defendant prevails on a Serna motion is dismissal of the case.

When prosecutors file criminal charges against someone not already in custody, they take the case to a judge to issue a California arrest warrant. This authorizes the police to apprehend the defendant and detain him/her until arraignment or, if bail is authorized, until bail is posted.

If you are aware of having a warrant for your arrest, usually the worst thing you can do is hide out and become a fugitive. In all likelihood, the police will find you and arrest you eventually. If you go “on the lam” for some period of time, this can make things worse once you do ultimately get arrested.

A California criminal defense lawyer can often escort you directly to court and ask that you be arraigned immediately. This means you enter a plea (usually “not guilty”), a further court date is set, and the judge decides what to do about bail.

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