Charged with DUI, went to court, "no charges filed"

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redballoons

Bluelighter
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Background:
I got pulled over and arrested for a DUI around December of 2009. I was 20 then (still 20 until september) but I was charged with DUI [23152 (a)/23152(b)]. This means that despite me being 20, I was charged with driving over with a .08 BAC. I went to the court date two months later but the clerk said that there were no charges filed against me. She gave me a paper stating that I had no charges and if the DA was to charge me, I would be notified. It was been months and still no court dates, etc. However, my DL is still suspended. I live in California also.

The reason for this thread, I guess, is to know what I can do to get my license back. I haven't been convicted of anything. My license expired and I tried to get it renewed but the DMV wouldn't renew because it was suspended. Right now I'm just waiting till the suspension (until next year) is lifted. I hate this waiting game, but I guess it is better than going to jail and what not. Is it possible to get my license re-instated since I haven't been actually convicted with a DUI?
 
If there were no charges filed, then there's no reason why your license should be suspended. Try going back to the court and explaining the situation to the clerk. Having said that, there is still a possibility that you could be charged. When I was arrested for possession and driving under the influence of drugs, I didn't receive my court summons for a few months.
 
Sweet P said:
If there were no charges filed, then there's no reason why your license should be suspended.
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Actually this is wrong. I've got 2 DWI's under my belt and got them both in Missouri. The way it works is that the state suspends the license - it has nothing to do with the court system. When I went to court for both DWI's, the judge fined me and had me do community service but did not suspend my license; the State of Missouri suspended my license.

To the OP: no, you prolly can't get your license reinstated. Just be patient. My license was suspended for 5 years.....1 year is a piece of cake :D
 
I would personally lay low until the statute of limitations in your state expires. It sounds like you got arrested, and they notified the DMV (DPS here in TX) that you were arrested, but somehow the paperwork got lost in the DA's office and charges were never filed. Whenever you are arrested here in TX, the DPS is instantly notified to suspend your license on the spot, regardless whether or not any charges were filed. Charges usually don't get filed for several months, the license suspension is seperate from criminal charges and happens instantly here in TX. Lay low, maybe the DA miraculously lost the paperwork. Dealing with a suspended license until the statute of limitations expires is better than dealing with the surcharges you are going to pay for a DUI conviction.
 
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Jerry Atrick said:
Actually this is wrong. I've got 2 DWI's under my belt and got them both in Missouri. The way it works is that the state suspends the license - it has nothing to do with the court system. When I went to court for both DWI's, the judge fined me and had me do community service but did not suspend my license; the State of Missouri suspended my license.
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Ok, I wasn't aware of that. Obviously it works differently in different places. I'm from New Zealand and had my license suspended by a judge after getting arrested for driving on methamphetamine.
 
Jerry Atrick said:
Actually this is wrong. I've got 2 DWI's under my belt and got them both in Missouri. The way it works is that the state suspends the license - it has nothing to do with the court system. When I went to court for both DWI's, the judge fined me and had me do community service but did not suspend my license; the State of Missouri suspended my license.

To the OP: no, you prolly can't get your license reinstated. Just be patient. My license was suspended for 5 years.....1 year is a piece of cake :D
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Oh wow, five years is a long time. Do you use public transportation to get to places?

severely etarded said:
I would personally lay low until the statute of limitations in your state expires. It sounds like you got arrested, and they notified the DMV (DPS here in TX) that you were arrested, but somehow the paperwork got lost in the DA's office and charges were never filed. Whenever you are arrested here in TX, the DPS is instantly notified to suspend your license on the spot, regardless whether or not any charges were filed. Charges usually don't get filed for several months, the license suspension is seperate from criminal charges and happens instantly here in TX. Lay low, maybe the DA miraculously lost the paperwork. Dealing with a suspended license until the statute of limitations expires is better than dealing with the surcharges you are going to pay for a DUI conviction.
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Hahah ya, I've been just waiting until next year, when the court can no longer trial me. It's just the pressure of my parents and gf are getting to me. They keep telling me to go to the DMV and work something out (ie: complain that the court didn't charge me with anything and shouldn't have my license suspended).

I'll just wait it out and hope that I don't get a trial date any time soon...or ever. haha :):)
 
redballoons said:
Oh wow, five years is a long time. Do you use public transportation to get to places?
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When I lived in Denver I used public transportation, but that's the only city I've lived in where the public transportation is worth a shit. When I moved back to Dallas I had to move in with my parents. I got my license back a year and a half ago and moved out of my parents' house as fast as I could.
 
That sucks that the state took your license but it's awesome that they may well have lost your paperwork or something. I wish that would have happened when I got a DUI!
 
It took 15 months for the DA to file my possession of Marijuana charge... What's funny is that when they filed, the file said the incident occurred 12 months to the day earlier than it really occurred...I'm guessing they lost my paperwork and found it much later, and wanted to make it look better in court (not taking 15 months, instead only 3 months). My lawyer told me it didn't matter, it hadn't been 24 months and therefore they could still file on me. Just wait it out, and cross your fingers. People's paperwork gets lost from time to time on lower level charges, even though it's EXTREMELY rare.
 
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Thanks for the responses everyone, puts my mind at ease. I've looked into this and found that the courts have a year from my arrest to charge. I just need the next five months to be clear ahah. Thanks everyone :):)
 
I had a single vehicle accident one night in the summer of 2007 in Texas. I called the DPS for months to see if I was being charged. I could not find out anything. My BAC was under the legal limit but I had taken Ambien (which is the actual cause of accident but that's another story) and had some hydrocodone in my system from earlier in the day. Fast forward two and one-half years when I was pulled over for an expired registration (which was in my glove box but I forgot to affix it to windshield) and promptly arrested for DWI. No one bothered to call or inform me by mail that there was a warrant for my arrest since 9 months after the accident. My license was never suspended, still isn't. It cost me a bundle of money for a lawyer to get even a lateral change in the charge to reckless driving and I was given 18 months probation, 60 days community service, $600 in fines, have to pay for and attend a drug offender class, pay for the privilege of going to probation each month and pay to submit to random drug tests. This was my first and only offense ever.
 
redballoons said:
Background:
I got pulled over and arrested for a DUI around December of 2009. I was 20 then (still 20 until september) but I was charged with DUI [23152 (a)/23152(b)]. This means that despite me being 20, I was charged with driving over with a .08 BAC. I went to the court date two months later but the clerk said that there were no charges filed against me. She gave me a paper stating that I had no charges and if the DA was to charge me, I would be notified. It was been months and still no court dates, etc. However, my DL is still suspended. I live in California also.

The reason for this thread, I guess, is to know what I can do to get my license back. I haven't been convicted of anything. My license expired and I tried to get it renewed but the DMV wouldn't renew because it was suspended. Right now I'm just waiting till the suspension (until next year) is lifted. I hate this waiting game, but I guess it is better than going to jail and what not. Is it possible to get my license re-instated since I haven't been actually convicted with a DUI?
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This all sounds very typical. I see it happen pretty much daily, almost always with DUIs. For some reason, DAs always lag on those, they usually blame it on a delay in acquiring police reports.
If the DA has your current mailing address and you haven't received a letter telling you when to appear, that's good news.
A friend of mine got arrested for DUI (CS) in San Diego County too; charges were never filed either, and he never heard about it again. Just had to spend the night in jail (and I had to walk home from a different city :D )
I don't remember him ever mentioning a license suspension, though ...

I don't know Cali law, but up here, its a 90-day suspension if you bail a BAC test.
1 year seems harsh when there is no corresponding conviction. Regardless, there is a hearings/appeals process you can pursue to get your license back.

edit: aha ... Would have been only 4 months for you, but since you are under 21, it is a 1-year suspension:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/driversafety/dsalcohol.htm#diff
 
Ya my license is suspended. Still no court summons though (woot). But I fucked up again.

Long story short I was driving my gf's car in Buena Park and she told me to make a uturn. I didn't see it was a no u-turn and a cop was there and pulled us over in parking lot. Charged me for illegal u-turn and driving on a suspended license. I honestly thought I was going to get arrested that night. I think I'm fucked now and think that my "lost" files will magically appear. :(:(
 
Yeah I just got to walk recently on a DUI charge for ecstasy due to a paperwork fuck up causing the statute of limitations to run out so it certainly can happen
 
redballoons said:
Ya my license is suspended. Still no court summons though (woot). But I fucked up again.

Long story short I was driving my gf's car in Buena Park and she told me to make a uturn. I didn't see it was a no u-turn and a cop was there and pulled us over in parking lot. Charged me for illegal u-turn and driving on a suspended license. I honestly thought I was going to get arrested that night. I think I'm fucked now and think that my "lost" files will magically appear. :(:(
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Same jurisdiction, or a different one?
is the DWS just a violation, not a misdemeanor? I ask cos up here, it can be a Felony (rare), Misdemeanor (occasional), or Violation (usual, ie just another traffic ticket, fine only)
If its a different jurisdiction, I doubt it'll affect the dormant DUI case. DAs in one county aren't going to call up another one and tell them to file an old case. Could bite ya if it is the same locale though.

You gotta drop those keys though man ... I've seen it time and again, people keep driving when they're suspended, and they rack up the DWS tickets. If you aren't able to pay even one ticket, it'll most likely keep you suspended until it gets paid, and it's gonna accrue collections fees if you don't pay it off quick. Every court/state is different; my county won't cut deals with anyone, you have to pay every last time to get each suspension lifted.
I know its damn near impossible to live without a car some places, but if you don't suck it up and ride out the suspension now, you're gonna be suspended indefinately.
 
redballoons said:
Ya my license is suspended. Still no court summons though (woot). But I fucked up again.

Long story short I was driving my gf's car in Buena Park and she told me to make a uturn. I didn't see it was a no u-turn and a cop was there and pulled us over in parking lot. Charged me for illegal u-turn and driving on a suspended license. I honestly thought I was going to get arrested that night. I think I'm fucked now and think that my "lost" files will magically appear. :(:(
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You could do some jail time for this (driving while license is under suspension due to a DUI offense) so I would recommend that you speak with an attorney.
 
Wat kind of fuckin selfish bitch is your girlfriend that she will ride in the car WITH YOU and ALLOW you to drive , when she is right there and perfectly capable of driving, while she KNOWS your license is suspended? WTF?? How fucked up is that?? I would be mad as hell at her if i was you.

YOU shouldnt be driving on a goddamn suspended license especially if you are just tryna wait it out and avoid charges, but the fact that you drove your girlfriend around when she coulda just drove you is just unforgivable on her part. I dont understand why the hell she would let you do that, unless she is like 16 or some shit and cant drive yet. Or if she got a suspended license too then she should fuckin walk instead of make you drive her somewhere...And i aint sayin it aint your responsiblity , becuz you done fucked up by driving, but im just sayin damn, that is one cold bitch. My mans license is suspended right now and i drive him everywhere. I dont want him gettin locked up for drivin on a suspended becuz in jerz that is wat happens to you if you got the amoutn of past offenses he does.

Straight up, when you only gotta deal with a little bit of time til your license comes back, driving aint worth it. Its incredibly stupid to drive anywhere at all, but its one thing if you GOT to, like you got probation or somethin and cant get a ride otherwise and if you dont show up youll get violated, or some shit like that/. But just cruisin around with your girlfriend who aint got enough of a brain to think , hey, maybe *I* should drive since your license is fuckin suspended.....that is just some dumb shit. sorry for bein so harsh yo, but im just bein real. It sucks that this happened to you becuz when you have a situation like yours, you cross ur finers and hope but drawin attention to yourself in any way esp. with new charges related to the same thing, will usually end up screwin you over.

anyways , i originally posted before i read that last post, just to say that I cant believe yall et your licenses suspended on the spot. WTF? In jerz you dont lose it til you get convicted. My BF got popped last september for DWI and just lost his license a week or 2 ago after finally gettin sentenced. I cant believe they take it immediately from u like that.

My guess is that like everybody else said, they suspended it as a thing non related to teh charges, the state takes it or somethin like that and you got it suspended becuz you got the DWI even without the charges filed, but now you might get hit with all kind of crazy shit , so def. post back and let us know how it goes.

And tell your bitch girlfriend to get behind the goddamn wheel if she cares about keepin your ass outta jail. :| ;)
 
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