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How to get around a cite release for DUI that says I need to be in court in 30 days and stay in California? I live in Wisconsin.
Anonymous7 views7 answers
I have been staying in California for a few months but still have my out of state drivers license and plates from Wisconsin. I got a DUI and was released via cite release which states that I must appear in court in 30 days and not leave California. I desperately need to return to my life in Wisconsin but now have this pending case in California. How can i get around the terms of this cite release. Is it possible to appear in court in Wisconsin instead. Who do i need to talk to about this?
Eric Paul GanciDUI / DWI AttorneySan Diego, CACA licensed ·
You can call lawyers around the area you were arrested, and where your Court case will be. As long as it's a misdemeanor case, in California, usually YOU don't need to be in Court. Usually you can have a attorney do that for you, as California Penal Code 977 allows for this. May be worth calling around to see how the Courts work where your case will be.
As long as the charges are misdemeanors, you can hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to appear in court for you while you go home to Wisconsin. Good luck.
If you hire a lawyer to represent you, the lawyer will go to court on your behalf and you will not need to go to court in person. (That's true even though your cite release says you have to appear in person.) That is one of the advantages of hiring a "private lawyer" as opposed to asking for a court-appointed lawyer. (Assuming you qualified for a court-appointed lawyer, you would need to appear in court in person alongside your court-appointed lawyer. The judge won't appoint a court-appointed lawyer until you go to court in person and ask for one, then there would be a brief investigation into your financial situation to determine whether you qualify for a court-appointed lawyer. In other words, can you afford to hire a lawyer on your own?) So, if you can afford to hire a lawyer, make sure you hire a lawyer who regularly practices in the court where you are ordered to appear, and knows the court's procedures with respect to defendants leaving the state. If your lawyer gives you the okay to return to Wisconsin, then go.
Agavni TulekyanCriminal Defense AttorneyBeverly Hills, CACA licensed ·
If you are charged with a misdemeanor DUI, an attorney can appear on your behalf as permitted by Penal Code section 977. You should consider hiring an attorney immediately. And no, it's not possible to appear in court in Wisconsin instead.
