DUI in Ventura but case not filed yet

Question: Got a DUI in Ventura County, showed up for court and they lost my paper work, I was dismissed by the Court, now what? The case is still pending but the DA has not filed any charges, because they lost the paper work. There is mention of a time limit to file charges, but what is it? Moving out of state, Florida, but I will leave a forwarding address to be contacted at.
Answer: That is a common issue in Ventura. Usually what happens is the case is filed at some point after the initial arraignment date was scheduled. I find that it tends to be within 6 weeks or so, but that is not a rule of thumb. They have up to a year to file misdemeanor charges. You should speak to and hire an attorney to handle this matter in the event that charges are filed (which is probably very likely that they will). A privately retained attorney can follow up with the court to check and see if charges are filed and thus avoiding a potential failure to appear and bench warrant. Also, a privately retained attorney can appear in court on your behalf without you having to be present. Finally, it is a good idea in any DUI case to have a DUI attorney handle the matter and defend you in the case. Feel free to call me to discuss further.
Sincerely,
Phil Hache
DUI & Criminal Defense Lawyer