Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
Dear Lawyers ,
Please respond to my Questions.
I was Working for airlines and there was a Set up by Managements to Kick me out of work and finally they did it . I was forced to accept that i sold the Upgrade Certificates to my friends for over 400 Dollars and if i accept it then they ( Police ) will let me go and the case is Over . I have never had a Case with Court nor a Driving Fine During my life in USA , I am also a USA Citizen . I left US to Outside for a short time back in Aug 2002 since it was hard to find a job and i hired an attorney in San Francisco to over look my case and paid him 1000 Dollars then . After almost 8 years i found a better life outside of USA and since my USA Passport was about to expire i went to USA Embassy and they Told me that there is a Warrant against me in San Mateo County Court and they Refused to give my passport until i clear my Problem . I did not even know that i was charged by Police Until then as i was never told that this case will continue until USA Embassy's Notice to me Last Mont .
I have been Charged with Code PC 508 / 487 A on October 2002 and it says Nature of Precedings ( Felony Arraignment ) for Grand theft over 400 Dollars.
Unfortunatlly i am not a rich guy and i am just a trying to make a Living outside of USA and have no Support Back in USA from Family and Nor Friend and this was an Unfair Set Up Against me but since i have admit it i guess i can't do anything about it at this point .
MY QUESTION IS :
What is the Statue of Limitations on this case if you know ? Please and Please Help me out . I am not a Bad Person and I was Just set up as you can tell sometimes how the Polices are in USA to try to scare you of Jail and other things lots of people who never even seen jail Except on Movies are scared of it ( So do I ) and had to admit the guilt ,But i have never Made it to Court and i have never been notified of any court appearance and also my Unfair Lawyer ( Mr Stanly Hilton ) did not even bother to notify the court that i wasn't in USA and compeletely forgot about it even though i have paid him 1000$ without doing ANYTHING for me to start with .
PLEASE HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND THE STATUE OF LIMITATIONS ON MY CASE ( IF There is one ) and how long will it be over ? Please Help and Please Help .
Thank you and God Bless you .
T
3 Answers from Attorneys
If you have already been charged no statute of limitations would apply. You cannot wait it out. I recommend you contact the attorney that assisted you before to find out your status.
You must have been the person who asked about the statute of limitations on the PC 508, and PC 487, subd. (A) earlier. I pointed out that you were not clear on the charges.
If charges were filed back then, then the statute of limitations is irrelevant. Filing a complaint in court is sufficient to stop the running of the statute of limitations. It sounds as though you left the country on the mistaken belief you could run the statute while you were gone, but again, that does not apply as pointed out here and by Mr. Kane.
Mr. Kane's and Mr. Roach's answers are exactly right. Further, Mr. Kane's suggestion regarding contacting the attorney you paid eight years ago is an excellent suggestion. This is not something you will be able to do without an attorney.
It sounds like you did not realize you had a court date and then failed to appear and as a result a warrant for your arrest was issued. However, any response regarding your situation is really nothing more than guess work and it is obvious that you're not sure what really happened and why your in this predicament. So call the original attorney and see if they can help you. If not, you will need to find another attorney for help. Good luck.
Brian McGinity
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