Do you have a bench warrant keeping you awake at night? Perhaps you forgot about a traffic ticket or a court date. Stop worrying and take action today!
In an attempt to reduce the state’s prison population and comply with a recent United States Supreme Court ruling, in October of 2014 the State of California started a new program called “Jail Realignment.”
Jail Realignment in California
The Supreme Court ruled that California’s prisons were so over crowded that the conditions violated the U.S. Constitution. It upheld a lower court decision ordering the state to release almost 10,000 prisoners—eight percent of the state’s prison population.
Not wanting to release 10,000 prisoners, California’s solution is to move prisoners around—a process it
is calling “Jail Realignment.” The state is moving nonviolent prison inmates to local county jails to serve out the remainder of their terms.
While this is relieving the burden on prisons, the county jails are taking on the crushing burden, which they are unequipped to handle.
You are probably wondering how this affects you? After all, you are not sitting in a prison.
Effects on Low-Level Offenders
Right now the county jails are suffering from overpopulation and cannot take on new low-level misdemeanor—petty theft and DUI defendants, for example—offenders. Thus, they are releasing low-level offenders early, after having served only a small portion of their sentence. Moreover, some county jails are simply refusing to accept some low-level offenders whom have only been sentenced to a few days in jail.
It is imperative that you act now to take advantage of this situation. In time, the prison population will balance out. And judges, who do not want their sentences to be ignored, will be looking for new options.
Opportunities for Alternative Sentencing
Defense attorneys are predicting that instead of sending misdemeanor defendants to jail for a few days or weeks, judges will be handing out alternative sentences such as house arrest, monitored home detention, remote alcohol monitoring bracelets, and work release programs.
You may be able to take advantage of a judge’s openness to alternative sentencing. If your bench warrant is for a minor infraction such as missing a court date you may be in a prime position to get a break if you take quick voluntarily action.
There are costs to the alternative sentences and monitoring that you may have to pay out of your own pocket. But you may be able to get these costs lowered by showing a lack of income.