First make sure you appear in court on the date listed on your notice or ticket. Lawstache Trial Attorneys are licensed in California, Nevada, and Utah. If you are in the San Diego Downtown Courthouse (1100 Union St, San Diego, CA 92101), go to the Felony Business Office on the first floor or Misdemeanor in the Second Floor. The clerk will be able to tell you what courtroom to go to get arraigned or that the case has not been filed.
If the case was not filed, walk over to the Hall of Justice (330 W Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101) 8th floor. Speak to the receptionist at the District Attorney’s Office. You will be given a time-stamped notice, stating that you appeared in court and no charged were filed, yet. If you are in a different courthouse, the process will be the same. Charges can still be filed against you as long as they are filed by the District Attorney within the statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations is the law that provides a deadline by which time any criminal charges must be filed. Misdemeanors must usually be filed within 1 year and most felonies must be filed within 3 years. Some serious charges do not have any statute of limitation. The California Penal Code lists various statutes of limitations for each criminal statute.
Why was the case not filed? There might not be enough evidence. It might have been reviewed by the deputy district attorney and rejected, in which case it will not be filed. The district attorney might still be waiting for more investigation or lab reports. If its a drug case, the amount and the quality of the drugs are being determined. In a DUI case, it might be the issue of the blood alcohol level (BAC). You will usually be notified by mail if the district attorney files charged. In some case, the district attorney may simply ask for the judge to issue an arrest warrant.
If you were arrested on criminal charges or DUI, please give us a call at 619-357-6677. We will begin working for you before the case is filed. In many cases, we are able to negotiate the cases and convince the prosecutor to reject the case. We may provide additional information, mitigation materials, or persuasive reasons for the prosecutor to drop the case. If you have any question about the process or would like to hire an attorney call 619-357-6677