Client in Middle East, 9 Year Bench Warrant Recalled

Our client, when age 42, was convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery (Penal Code § 243(e)(1)) and misdemeanor false imprisonment (Penal Code § 236) in 2014.  He thereafter lost his job and his home.

Needing work, he moved to Saudi Arabia for work and did not complete any terms of his probation.  He did not pay outstanding court fees and fines of $1,080, he did not complete the 52-week batterers program classes and he did not perform 10 days of Cal-Trans labor or eight hours of community service. 

In 2023, he was advised by his employer that there was a bench warrant for his arrest in Westminster and that he would be asked to resign his job if he did not resolve it ASAP.  Panicked, the client called Greg Hill & Associates and spoke with Greg Hill.

The client explained the 2014 case facts and how he had lost his job and his home, later moving to the Middle East for work as a contractor and never intending to return.  He then asked what could be done about the bench warrant.

Greg explained that he could appear on the client’s behalf in Westminster Superior Court and request that the judge recall the bench warrant.  The judge certainly could deny such a request.

Greg explained that the best way to help one’s chances of having the judge grant the request was to have a plan of how to finish the plea bargain terms and to give the court part of the plea bargain terms while making the request.

Greg suggested that the client pay the outstanding court fees and fines when asking to recall the bench warrant.  Greg then told the client he would ask the judge to allow the client to complete the batterers program through Open Path, an online batterers program that Los Angeles Superior Courts generally permitted during COVID-19 when in-person classes were stopped, and that the client would agree to perform community service in Saudi Arabia instead of Cal-Trans, as there certainly was no Cal-Trans in Saudi Arabia.

The client agreed with Greg’s proposal and retained Greg Hill & Associates.  The client then paid the outstanding court fees and fines to Greg Hill & Associates with the understanding that Greg would then write the Clerk of the Court in Orange County a check for the same amounts from the Greg Hill & Associates Client Trust Fund if the judge did recall the bench warrant.

Greg then appeared in the Westminster Courthouse to request that the judge assigned to the case recall the bench warrant.  The prosecutor assigned to the case told Greg that he would oppose the request because he wanted the client to show up in person to have the bench warrant recalled.

The judge then called the case and Greg appeared, requesting that the judge recall and quash the bench warrant and offering to pay the court fees and fines that very day.  Greg then explained to the judge how our client planned to finish the remainder of the plea bargain through the Open Path program and community service in Saudi Arabia, as there was no Cal-Trans in Saudi Arabia.

Much to Greg’s surprise, the judge did recall the bench warrant and reinstated our client on probation with 18 more months of probation to finish.  This was ironically a good deal because when our client failed to appear in court after moving to the Middle East in 2014, he had only completed about four months of informal, or summary probation, so having our client serve 18 more months of probation actually saved him about 14 months of probation.

The judge otherwise agreed with exactly the suggestion Greg made as to allowing the client to complete the 52-session batterers program through Open Path and to perform community service in Saudi Arabia. 

Greg then paid the $1,080 in outstanding court fees and fines at the courthouse and emailed the client a pdf copy of the receipt, along with a summary of the judge’s rulings.

The client was extremely happy with this development.

For more information about bench warrant recall issues, please click on the following articles: