Do Arrest Warrants Expire

[bnikazy]

Do criminal warrants expire in the State of Washington and if so after how long?

[lwpat]

No. Arrest warrants never expire in any state.

[4eyedbuzzard]

General rule is that the issuance of a warrant stops the ticking of the statute of limitations clock. There are exceptions, and SOL tolling is really tricky, but basically unanswered warrants simply don't go away.

[BOR]

Do criminal warrants expire in the State of Washington and if so after how long?

Very few states have provisions for an automatic expiration of an arrest warrant. I have seen a few. It seems to me, in the back of my mind, it was a certain county in Washington that had a time lapse on thier arrest warrants, misdemeanor ones that is??

But 99.9% of the time expect an arrest warrant to remain active until you die. Out of state extradition is another matter now.

SEARCH warrrants expire, yes, but not arrest warrants as I outlined.

[cdwjava]

I think it's not so much that the warrants expire, BOR, but that the state has a policy to not renew the warrant in NCIC after a certain time frame. A state has to renew warrants in NCIC or they will drop off. This is not quite the same as the warrant expiring, only that access to the information might expire unless acted upon. Most jurisdictions will automatically renew warrants - some states do not. I do not have a list of those states handy, though.

- Carl

[BOR]

I think it's not so much that the warrants expire, BOR, but that the state has a policy to not renew the warrant in NCIC after a certain time frame.

- Carl

This is what I meant, yes, not that a warrant would expire say 2 years from the date of issue. The state has the option of cancelling it in the interest of justice if after a certain time the individual has not been apprehended.

[cdwjava]

This is what I meant, yes, not that a warrant would expire say 2 years from the date of issue. The state has the option of cancelling it in the interest of justice if after a certain time the individual has not been apprehended.

I am not certain I know of any court in any state that actually cancels a warrant absent a prompting to do so (due to litigation, etc.), but I suppose that's possible ... just not probable.

- Carl

[BOR]

I am not certain I know of any court in any state that actually cancels a warrant absent a prompting to do so (due to litigation, etc.), but I suppose that's possible ... just not probable.

- Carl

I know I have seen such codification before for different states and WA was one of them, I think, or at least one county in the state?? I researched this some years ago for someone, but could not remember where or what jurisdictions it was?? After some preliminary research I found one, but am still looking for WA. My mind is a little feeble at times. (No wise cracks).


F) When the offense charged is a misdemeanor, and the warrant or summons issued pursuant to this section is not served within two years of the date of issue, a judge or magistrate may order such warrant or summons withdrawn and the case closed, when it does not appear that the ends of justice require keeping the case open.


http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2935.10

[cdwjava]

Of course a judge MAY cancel such a warrant ... but, how common does that actually happen?

They MAY cancel warrants here, too. I have never heard of it happening, though.

Some states may have a practive of dropping misdemeanor offenses not served in a period of time. But, I suspect that such states would be in the minority.

- Carl

[BOR]

Of course a judge MAY cancel such a warrant ... but, how common does that actually happen?

They MAY cancel warrants here, too. I have never heard of it happening, though.

Some states may have a practive of dropping misdemeanor offenses not served in a period of time. But, I suspect that such states would be in the minority.

- Carl

That was my point Carl, they may not "automatically" expire, but a court can cancel/abrogate them as a discretionary move.