As a general rule, arrest warrants do not expire. Rather, they stay active indefinitely until the person named by the warrant is arrested or the warrant is “recalled and quashed.”
That said, arrest warrants that do not get executed for years may result in your case being dismissed under the criminal statute of limitations or as a violation of your right to a speedy trial.
Types of warrants
There are numerous different types of warrants. They include:
- arrest warrants, which order law enforcement to arrest the person named,
- bench warrants, which are orders by a judge to arrest someone for violating a court order, often for failing to appear at a court date,
- search warrants, which instruct police to search the described location for specified evidence of a crime,
- wiretap warrants, which authorize investigators to eavesdrop on someone’s electronic communications, such as their phone calls or emails,
- seizure warrants, which tells law enforcement officers to collect specified property,
- material witness warrants, which ensure that an important witness is present for a court proceeding,
- deportation warrants, which tell immigration officials to detain and deport the subject of the warrant, and
- fugitive warrants, which instruct police to arrest someone who is wanted in another jurisdiction.
The most common types of active warrants, though, are arrest, bench, and search warrants.
Arrest warrants do not expire
Once issued, an arrest warrant does not expire. It only ends if:
- the named person is apprehended, or
- the warrant is cleared.
Even misdemeanor warrants stay active indefinitely. The reason for this is, if the warrant did have an expiration date, criminal suspects could avoid prosecution by laying low until it passed.
“The most important thing to understand about arrest warrants is that they do not go away on their own. There are lots of stories about people who were brought into custody by a police officer after a traffic stop over an active arrest warrant that was 30 or 40 years old. You have to take affirmative steps to clear a warrant if you want to avoid this embarrassing inconvenience. Getting it cleared will also remove it from criminal background checks and can protect your driver’s license from a suspension by the DMV due to the warrant.” – criminal defense lawyer Neil Shouse
How to clear an arrest warrant
To clear, or “quash,” an arrest warrant you or your criminal defense attorney would either file a motion to quash or turn yourself in to police or to the court.
A motion to quash is a court filing asking a judge to deem the arrest warrant invalid or void. A court hearing will be held, at which point you can argue your case. Typically, your argument would be that:
- so much time has passed since the issuance of the arrest warrant that the criminal statute of limitations has expired or your right to a speedy trial have been violated, so the underlying case must be dismissed anyway, or
- the arrest warrant is deficient.
Doing this on your own is very risky. If you do not convince the judge that the warrant should be quashed, then the warrant will be executed and you will likely be taken into custody.
You can also turn yourself in to the local police station. This would initiate the process of executing the warrant. It can be a wise move if the warrant is clearly a mistake and it is not a felony warrant. You should consult with a lawyer and get their legal advice before doing this, though.
The criminal statute of limitations
Many states have criminal statutes of limitations for their criminal laws. These require prosecutors to initiate a criminal case within a certain period of time after it was committed. Different states use different time limits. They often have distinct statutes of limitations for different offenses. However, the issuance of an arrest warrant in the case may satisfy the statute of limitations.
For example, in California, the statute of limitations is:
- 1 year for misdemeanors,[1]
- 3 years for felony charges,[2]
- 6 years for criminal charges that carry more than 8 years in prison,[3] and
- forever, for offenses that:
- carry the death penalty,
- could carry life in prison, or
- involve the embezzlement of public money.[4]
Before this time expires, the prosecutor must generally:
- file an indictment or criminal information,
- file the criminal complaint,
- bring the defendant to the arraignment, or
- issue an arrest or a bench warrant.[5]
If the prosecutor fails to do any of these things, you can get the criminal case dismissed for being time-barred. Because the arrest warrant can satisfy the statute of limitations, though, this can make whether arrest warrants expire irrelevant: The warrant may have been issued a decade ago, but if it satisfied the statute of limitations then the statute may not help you.
Your right to a speedy trial
The failure to execute an arrest warrant within a reasonable amount of time can violate your right to a speedy trial. This right is enshrined in the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It is also included in most state constitutions.
In California, for example, if you were arrested on an old search warrant, you can file a Serna motion. This motion would argue that your right to a speedy trial are being violated. The name comes from the California Supreme Court case that created this process.[6]
Depending on whether the motion is based on the federal or state constitution, the judge would consider:
- the length and reason for the delay in the arrest,
- your claim to a speedy trial,
- the prejudice you have suffered from the delay, and/or
- the prosecutor’s justification for the delay in the arrest.[7]
If the motion is successful, the judge will dismiss the case.
Our law firm has found that filing a Serna motion is often a good idea whenever the outstanding warrant has remained active for a good amount of time.
Arrest warrants v. bench warrants
Both arrest and bench warrants instruct law enforcement to bring the named person into custody. Neither arrest nor bench warrants expire.
The difference between the two is how they are issued.
Arrest warrants are issued after:
- a grand jury indictment, or
- a showing of probable cause that a crime has been committed by the person named on the warrant.
Bench warrants are issued for a violation of a court order. That violation is typically for failing to appear at a mandatory court appearance.
Legal Citations:
[1] California Penal Code 802 PC.
[2] California Penal Code 801 PC.
[3] California Penal Code 800 PC.
[4] California Penal Code 799 PC.
[5] See California Penal Code 804 PC.
[6] Serna v. Superior Court, 40 Cal.3d 239 (1985).
[7] People v. Martinez, 22 Cal.4th 750 (2000) and People v. Hannon, 19 Cal.3d 588 (1977).
