For a crime to be punished and a felon to be convicted, the act has to be reported and sent to the right court for conviction. But often a lot of time passes by before a crime is given limelight, and when the investigation finally opens up, the criminal is either caught or gets away.
How long do Police have to file Charges?
For crimes such as murder, there is no time limit. The case can be opened up at any point in time, can go to court, can go to trial and the felon shall be convicted. There are certain statutes of limitations that limit the conviction of a crime after a reasonable time limit has passed.
By way of example, here are some time limits set forth in the current version of Section 1.06 of the Model Penal Code, which are similar to those of many states:
- murder charges: no time limit
- serious felony charges: six years
- misdemeanor charges: two years
- petty misdemeanors and infractions: six months
States cannot retroactively change the rules to allow prosecution of crimes that are already barred by an existing statute of limitations.
How long can the Police detain you without Charge?
It is not legal for the police to hold up people in custody unless there is proof of a serious crime. Generally, the police have 24 hours until they have to find grounds to charge you for a crime you’re suspected of, or release you. If the 24 hours pass and still there are absolutely no grounds of a crime you’ve been suspected of, the police have to release you.
However, if you’re a suspect in a murder case, the police officer can ask for an extension in the detainment and extend those 24 hours to 72 or 96 hours. After this time limit passes, the police have to release you.
How long does the Police have to File a Report?
For petty offenses, you typically have a year to file a report. Most misdemeanors will have a statute of limitations that is equal to two years. For felonies, you usually have five years. For every crime, filing a report is very important so that it comes in the record.
As mentioned above, for a murder charge there is no time limit, a report can be filed even after years have passed, but for misdemeanors there is statute limitation. One example is the supreme court ruling of the case of Stogner v. California in 2003. It was a decision which held that California’s retroactive extension of the statute of limitations for sexual offenses committed against minors was an unconstitutional ex post facto law.
In 1998, applicant Marion Stogner was prosecuted for sexual crime from between 1955 and 1973, under California’s particular statute of limitations. It happened after Stogner’s two children were both accused of sexual assault. During the state’s examination of one of the children, Stogner’s daughters revealed that their father explicitly manhandled them and sexually abused them for quite a long time when they were younger than 14. The jury discovered reasonable justification to accuse Stogner of molesting his two daughters.
Stogner argued that the rule abuses the ex post facto law and due process clauses by retroactively invoking laws that were not in place at the time of the alleged offenses. At the time that the crimes were committed, the legal time limit was three years. The people in question, his two daughters, said that they had not announced sooner since they were in dread of their father. The pertinent California law had been reconsidered in 1996, expanding the legal time limit retroactively.
How do I know if I have been charged with a Crime?
If you’ve been charged with a crime, the police will have a valid arrest warrant before they come near you. And you are well within your rights to ask them directly of what you’ve been charged for. Moreover, You do have the right to see police reports so that you know what you are being accused of. If charges have been filed against you, you can ask for a copy of the police report through the DA’s office.
Conclusion
If a misdemeanor or a petty crime has been committed, the police are under the statute of limitations of that particular crime, meaning if the time limit has passed, they can’t charge you or file a report against you. For crimes such as misdemeanor or non violent crimes, there is a limit of up to 2-3 years, and after that the police can’t charge you with the crime.
However, in the case of first degree murders, there is no time limit. A person can be arrested and convicted even after several years have passed from the alleged incident. The police cannot hold you for more than 24 hours in custody- or maximum of 96 hours if you’re a murder suspect- before they have to charge you or release you. Know your rights well.
