12 Year Bench Warrant Recalled, Shoplifting, Long Beach

In 2012, our client was arrested and charged with shoplifting (Penal Code § 484(a)), following an arrest at a Long Beach Food-4-Less.  The arrest was rather sad, as our client was caught stealing food for herself to eat.  She was hungry, homeless and unemployed.  The value of the food stolen was $24.27.

Following the arrest, our client, then age 26, was kept in custody and arraigned two days later.  She was represented by a public defender, who negotiated a probationary deal wherein our client was released, but placed on three years of informal (summary) probation with an obligation to perform 30 days of community labor (i.e., Cal-Trans), pay $126 in attorney fees for the public defender services and stay out of the Long Beach Food-4-Less during the three years of probation.

As the reader of this summary may be aware, when a bench warrant is issued, the court generally does not mail notice of this to the defendant.  

Indeed, eleven years later, in 2024, our client, not age 38, was alerted about the bench warrant by her employer.  He told her to get to court and have the bench warrant “taken care of.”

The client then called Greg Hill & Associates and explained her concerns.  She knew that she had not anything that she was ordered, so she was concerned she would be put in jail as punishment for this violation.

Greg listened to the client and explained that under Assembly Bill 1950, which was retroactive under In re Estrada (1965) 63 Cal. 2d 740. 744, she had nothing to fear.  Greg explained that since the client had completed more than one year of probation, her probation was deemed complete on the 366th day.  This meant the judge’s bench warrant was legally void and would be recalled once Greg appeared in court to request this.  Perhaps more importantly, the obligation to perform 30 days of community labor also ended when probation ended.

The client was skeptical that Greg was correct in this view, asking “really, are you sure?”  She then asked Greg what his fee would be to appear in court to have the bench warrant recalled.

Greg told her his fee and explained how in Long Beach Superior Court, at that time, the court required defendant to appear in person for a misdemeanor bench warrant recall.  This was unlike almost every other court in Los Angeles County and Greg complained of this inconvenience for the client.

The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates.

Nonetheless, the client was very interested in keeping her job (she was a single mom with a nine-year-old son), so she was more than agreeable to appearing as soon as possible.  Greg and the client then agreed upon a day, about a week away, to meet at the Long Beach Superior Court at 8:30 a.m. to go to the criminal clerk’s office and have the case added to the calendar.

The client then met Greg at the courthouse on the agreed upon date.  The Long Beach judge first remarked that bail was ridiculously high for a shoplifting case and quashed the warrant.  She then asked Greg what he wanted to do with the case.

Greg asked the court to terminate probation under Assembly Bill 1950 since the client had served more than one year on probation.  

The judge looked closer at the court file for a few seconds and then agreed, stating, “probation is terminated as requested.”  The judge then clarified for the client, present in court, “you have no obligation to perform the community labor.  That requirement of probation is no longer effective with probation over.” 

Our client was extremely happy with this result, as her job was now more secure and she avoided jail.