Alcohol & Drugs: DUI, DWI 07 DWI charge

[Missa]

My son was charged with DWI in 2007, first offence. He hired a lawyer as he was about to move to Dubai. He gave power of attorney to lawyer, and in court showed the judge his ticket to Dubai. He only heard once from lawyer thru email asking for fax info which was sent to him.

When the next date occured, his lawyer stated that he was not in contact with my son and he was then charged with jumping bail.

He returned from Dubai last week and found out that there was a warrant for his arrest, he immediately went to the Village court, a new court atttendance date has been issued.

His former lawyer want thousands more to represent him, he has no savings and is unemployed, will he be able to get a court appointed attorney?

Any advice?

 

[army judge]

If he has no funds, yes he will get a court appointed lawyer. He has foolishly upped the ante. Bail jumping is dealt with harshly. The DUI is inconsequential at this point. He should speak only to his lawyer. He might get no bail (or have a very high bail) this time.


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[Missa]

I agree he was foolish not to ensure his lawyer was dealing with the situation, but he did explain to judge he was moving out of the country and she instructed him to give power of attorney to lawyer, which he did. I'm concerned that lawyer pocketed his pay and did not follow up.

 

[army judge]

I agree he was foolish not to ensure his lawyer was dealing with the situation, but he did explain to judge he was moving out of the country and she instructed him to give power of attorney to lawyer, which he did. I'm concerned that lawyer pocketed his pay and did not follow up.

You should be concerned that he jumped bail.

Most lawyers don't take money they haven't earned.

This guy could not have moved out of the country while he was under legal process.

The court would never have permitted that.

He planned to jump bail all along.

He could speak with his former lawyer about the previous representation and his money.

But, everyone must show concern about the bail jumping charge.

Every state takes that seriously.

Here are some good articles on bail jumping in NY.

http://www.queensdefense.com/warrants.htm

http://www.newyorkcriminallawyerblog.com/2008/08/ny_criminal_law_bail_jumping_p_1.html

Punishable by up to a year in jail as a misdemeanor and up to seven years as a felony, Bail Jumping occurs when you have been released from custody or you are allowed to remain at liberty and you fail to return to court on the return date or voluntarily within thirty days thereafter.

Unfortunately, this New York criminal offense is pretty straight forward...the judge tells you to return on a particular date, you fail to do so within thirty days and now you face an additional charge. If you find yourself in this situation you will need an experienced New York criminal defense attorney to assist you in working yourself out of your predicament.

It is important to note that there may be mitigating reasons as to why you did not return and a defense to your actions. However, the law is clear in that the prosecution does not have to prove that you intentionally did not return to court.See People v. Eifell. In other words, if you fail to appear during the thirty days after your court date, it does not matter under the law that you did so because you forgot, you were sick or you intentionally stayed away. Moreover, if during the time you failed to return to court the initial case against you was dismissed, the prosecution can still charge you with Bail Jumping. See Eifell.

Fortunately, there is a statute of limitations that the prosecution must adhere to when charging Bail Jumping. If you are charged with a misdemeanor, the prosecution can only bring a Bail Jumping charge within two years after the initial thirty days and five years after the initial thirty days if you were charged with a felony. See CPL 30.10(2).