Legal Question in DUI Law in California
Hello. On May 6, 2005, I was arrested for a DUI in Long Beach, CA. A few months later, under the advisement of my lawyer, I was told to plead guilty to all charges. I received the maximum fine, the maximum community service penalty, placed on probation and directed to attend the DUI class. My license was suspended, but I never pursued the DMV process for my DUI because I had no money for the proceeding. My lawyer convinced me that I had a chance of being cleared of the charges, but once I had finished paying him the thousands of dollars he was charging, he ended up just having me plead guilty to the full charge. I had no money because I had given it all to the lawyer. This is why, at the time, I felt that fleeing was my only option. It has been nearly five years, and I have been living out of the country for this time. However, my lack of an American driver's license has unexpectedly closed a devastatingly large number of career options for me. I need to get my license reinstated, but I have no idea where to begin. I have been told before to retain a lawyer and have them look into the case directly, but I can't due to the financial blow of the cost of my original lawyer matched with my inability to get a job above entry level pay due to my lack of an American driver's license at this time. I have considered surrendering at the county court in an effort to begin some movement toward ending this limbo, but I am worried about the possibility of doing time in Los Angeles County lock-up. Can you please give me a general description of what courses of action I need to take to get from here to a free and clear license again? Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
The path to your license is probably easier than you think. I am assuming you never did any of your community service or DUI classes. I appear regularly in the Long Beach courts and I am sure I would be able to get you a deal you will be able to live with. My services aren't free, and I know you paid your previous lawyer a great deal of money, but call me and we'll work something out. I recommend you do not surrender by yourself.
You realize that there is an arrest warrant out for you because of your failure to comply with the court orders. For you to handle this, you must turn yourself into the court, with or without an attorney, and try to negotiate a new plea bargain on the outstanding charges, the new warrant, and license suspension. Doing so voluntarily will result in a better outcome than you being brought in cuffs to court after arrest on the warrant. That will happen if you come in contact with law enforcement or customs anywhere in the country. On a misdemeanor like your DUI, your attorney can appear in court without you being present, and any plea bargain deal could be handled by notarized paperwork. Any fines could be paid by mail. However, if there is jail time to be served, only you can do that. If this is in SoCal courts, and you're serious about getting legal help doing so, feel free to contact me.
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