How Long Does The State Have To File Charges in Florida? - YouTube

Lots of people want to know how long does it take for the state to file

charges and the answer is it depends on two questions. My first question is, were

you arrested? Because, this affects the timeline. If you were arrested, we're

talking about something called "speedy trial" and the state must bring you to

trial before speedy expires. Now, on a misdemeanor arrest in Florida, speedy

trial runs in about 90 days. For felony charge speedy runs in a hundred and

seventy-five days. So, those are your two deadlines. If you've already been

arrested, it doesn't matter if you were arrested on a little felony like driving

on a suspended license as a habitual, or a big one like murder. Regardless of the

severity of the charge the state only has a hundred and seventy-five days

after an arrest to file charges and that's in rule 3.1 91 and there are

entire books written about Florida speedy trial laws, so we don't want to

spark up a mini-series here to review that topic. But, I'll tell you the

confusion comes when you're trying to figure out the timeline when you haven't

been arrested. If you haven't been arrested, the state's time limitations

are determined by really two things. First the statute of limitations, and

second, your constitutional right to a speedy trial that's totally different

than the 90 and 175 speedy trial statutory laws. So, once again this whole

concept, entire books are written on this. Let's see if I can boil it down for you

in 90 seconds. The clock is going to start ticking for

the prosecutors obviously when the crime was allegedly committed and then if

you've got nobody arrested and a crime committed, the state has three to four

years to to arrest that citizen on that crime depending on the severity of the

charge. If the charge is serious like a first degree felony, the prosecutors have

got a file within four years but capital crimes, keep in mind, have no statute of

limitations. Capital murder or molestation, you can be arrested on that

at any time even 40 years later, so all other felonies, three years, that's the

limit. Second and third degree felonies, three years, that's the limit. Let me also

mention to you that misdemeanors obviously have an even shorter time, a

first degree misdemeanor should be filed on within two years. Lots of exceptions

to the statute of limitations and how much time the state has to do these

things. For example, theft crimes, they get extended five to six years depending on

the circumstances of course. But what I've left out is the most important

analysis of this time frame issue and that is, the key to getting a case

dismissed because the state took so long to file or arrest somebody is that

violating the statute, violating these timeframes does mean a charge will be

dismissed but it has to happen because the state failed to serve their warrant

in a timely manner without unreasonable delay. So on these cases we're trying to

figure out what is an unreasonable delay. Because, if the state unreasonably

delayed an arrest, this case is going to get thrown out. They've got to show some

effort to get the case going and I want to give you an example. So remember that

almost all felonies have a three year deadline and our real life story today

involves a guy named Watkins and he was arrested four years after an incident so

Watkins' defense attorney asked the judge for dismissal and that was granted based

on the fact that the statute of limitations said he had to be served

within three years. The reason they dismissed it at the four year mark

wasn't just because it was the four year mark, remember, it was the

unreasonableness of the delay because the

prosecutors only attempted to serve him with a warrant one time in four years.

That one attempt was considered an unreasonable delay, that's why the case got

thrown out. So that's what I want you to think about is the delays involved, those

factor into whether the case can be dismissed on statute of limitations

grounds. I do wish you luck thanks for watching

and take care.