If you were charged at the time the statute of limitations would stop running. There are some other possibilities for you to consider. Contact me for a free consultation to discuss your options.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/26/2010

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No statute of limitations when you are a fugitive from your DUI. You should hire an attorney to see if there is any way to pull the warrants and dispose of your case- otherwise you could be arrested when entering the country.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/26/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

There is no statute of limitations on a warrant or failure to appear on a DUI charge. The warrant will remain outstanding until you or an attorney clears the warrant and sets up a new court date. If you have three DUI cases, I would recommend obtaining an attorney to clear the warrants for you so that you are not taken into custody. Once the warrants have been recalled, the cases will be re-opened and new arraignment dates will be set. An attorney can then obtain the police report and discovery and try to get your charges dismissed or reduced. Please contact our firm if you need any assistance with this.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/25/2010

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The statute of limitations applies to how long the prosecution has to file charges against you. If charges were filed and you failed to appear, the statute of limitations does not come into play. If charges were not filed until after your appearance date however, you may have a motion to dismiss for failure of prosecution. But it depends on certain factors. You are going to need to run this by a criminal defense attorney in person for a full analysis.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/25/2010

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Intuitively, most people think that the statute of limitations is a straightforward issue that is easy to understand or explain. Lawyers will tell you that there are many exceptions to the statute of limitations. Generally speaking, the statute of limitations for a misdemeanor is a year and half and the statute of limitations is seven years for felony matters. A DUI can be either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances. As mentioned above, there are many exceptions to those time frames. For example, when someone is charged with a crime and he/she leaves the jurisdiction, the statute of limitations is usually tolled. When the statute of limitations is tolled, the time limit never expires. There may be other circumstances which could actually benefit someone accused of a crime. The state has an obligation to prosecute crimes and look for individuals who are charged with crimes. The state is not free to sit back do nothing until the accused individual resurfaces. For instance, if the state fails to issue a warrant, then the accused may never know that he is actually accused of a crime. Legal matters such as the statute of limitations are very complicated. We recommend that you seek immediate legal representation. A competent criminal defense lawyer can explain small differences in the law or the facts that could dramatically affect your case. Our office is available 24/7 to represent you with any criminal matter. Feel free to contact us.

Answer Applies to: Arizona
Replied: 8/24/2010

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There is no statute of limitations issue here. You have 3 different warrants because you failed to appear in court for your DUI cases. A statute of limitations is the time by which the prosecution has to file a case against you. If you do not show up to the court date on the ticket, the Judge issues a bench warrant and the warrants NEVER go away. So if you were gone for 5, 10 or even 20 years you would still have to deal with the DUIs. Being that you have these 3 different cases, it would be a really good idea to consult with an experienced DUI attorney. I have handled 100s and 100s of them successfully for clients. Give me a call for a consultation.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/24/2010

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Statute of limitations for a DUI [or any other] warrant? No. You have arrest warrants from each of those charges. Warrants are forever. You would be taken into custody and transported as a prisoner in cuffs to court anytime you come in contact with any law enforcement, such as traffic stops, customs, airport check in, etc. You would be immediately arrested upon arrival through customs into this country. You would not be allowed to bail out before court hearing. To resolve this, you and/or your attorney must go to the court[s] and turn yourself in voluntarily, getting the warrant withdrawn as part of the process of either negotiating a plea bargain or going to trial on the charges. If the court[s] are in Southern California, and you are serious about hiring counsel to help you in this, feel free to contact me. Such misdemeanor arrests and warrants can be handled by your attorney without you being personally present in court, at least up to the point of you complying with any sentence imposed for jail or probation or classes.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/24/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Warrants were issued in all 3 cases when you failed to appear on them. Once a warrant has been issued, the statute of limitations stops running. The warrants remain in the system forever, until they are recalled and quashed. It sounds like you may have 3 warrants out for your arrest on those 3 DUI tickets 5 years ago. If your cases are anywhere near Los Angeles, I would be happy to advise you on your options and your situation. Please do not hesitate to call.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/24/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

The statute of limitations would be tolled during any time you were on the lam (running) from the law. As long as the prosecutor filed charges, you may still be picked up and the case prosecuted. On the other hand, the statute of limitations for a misdemeanor DUI is generally 1 year from the date of the offense. I would definitely call an attorney for this situation as the outstanding warrant seems to indicate that you were charged but failed to appear at your arraignment.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/24/2010

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The statute of limitations is one year.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/24/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

On a misdemeanor DUI in California there is a 1 year statute of limitations. That is, the DA has 1 hear from the date of your arrest to file a complaint against you. Now, you may have a motion to dismiss each of these cases for a violation of your right to a speedy trial as they are so old.

Call my office for a free consultation concerning your case and options.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/24/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.