22 Year Old Bench Warrant Recalled, Prop 36 Reinstated

In 2002, our client was arrested and found in possession of six grams of cocaine.  At the time, our client was 39 years old.  He eventually was released from jail, but only after he was arraigned and charged in the Clara Shortridge Foltz criminal courts building (CCB) with a violation of California Health & Safety Code § 11350(a), possession of a controlled substance, a felony.

The case against him was resolved rather quickly with a plea wherein the client was placed on Prop 36 probation, with an obligation to attend drug counseling and perform 80 hours of community service.  At the end of the probation period, our client would be able to have his no contest plea withdrawn and the case dismissed.

Our client did nothing toward fulfilling his obligations and when the court held his first progress hearing, our client did not appear in court, the judge issued a bench warrant for him with no bail.  The judge was not pleased with our client, as he had two earlier convictions for drug offenses, as well as a conviction for DUI.

Our client had moved to Las Vegas for a job and thought that after a while, the bench warrant would “go away.”  

Twenty-two years later, in 2024, he found out this was not true.  His employer notified our client, now age 61, that he needed to get the bench warrant removed or else he would be removed from continued employment.

The client’s daughter, also living in Las Vegas, called Greg Hill & Associates and spoke with Greg Hill.  Greg explained that Health & Safety Code § 11350(a) was now a misdemeanor unless the defendant had a prior conviction for a “Strike” offense (a specified serious or violent felony) or was a registered sex offender. 

Greg then researched the case history and explained to the daughter how a bench warrant can be recalled.  Greg explained to the daughter that while the original charge was a felony, which would mean her father would need to appear in person in court with Greg, some judges would recognize that since the charge would otherwise now, that the defendant did not need to appear in court with the attorney and the case could be handled like a misdemeanor. 

Greg also recommended that the client enroll in and complete a drug treatment program, even is it is in 2024 and even if her father no longer used drugs.  Greg also recommended that the client perform at least 80 hours of community service in Las Vegas and get a letter from the organization he volunteered with stating this.

The daughter then arranged for her father to enter into a two-month outpatient drug treatment program in Las Vegas.  He not only completed the program and received a certificate of completion, but he volunteered for and performed 82.5 hours of work for the Salvation Army in Las Vegas.  The client’s daughter also forwarded Greg a letter from the Las Vegas Salvation Army, on its letterhead, confirming that our client had performed such service, with a copy of his volunteer time sheet attached.

Greg then went to the Clara Shortridge Foltz criminal courts building and asked to have the twenty-two year old case added to the calendar for a bench warrant recall.  

The judge assigned to the case, however, was out for the day for some reason, so the courtroom “borrowed” judges from other courtrooms throughout the day.  The district attorney’s office also had a shortage of prosecutors that day, so while there was a district attorney assigned to the courtroom, she was handling cases in multiple courtrooms.

This situation created a situation where Greg had to wait until well into the afternoon to have a judge handle the bench warrant for our client.  

When a judge finally did handle the case, he had expediency in mind.  He looked at the charge and the age of the case.  He looked at the age of our client and that he had completed 82.5 hours of community service and had finished a drug treatment program.  

He then recalled and quashed the bench warrant, reinstated our client on Prop 36 and terminated Prop 36, dismissing the case.

The client and his daughter were overjoyed, telling Greg that he had lifted a heavy burden off her father’s back that had weighed on him for 22 years.