How long does a misdemeanor warrant stay active in California?

In California, an arrest warrant for a misdemeanor offense will stay active until either the warrant is cleared, you are arrested, or you die. These warrants do not simply expire. However, if the criminal statute of limitations has expired, the case potentially can get dismissed as time-barred. In California, the statute of limitations for misdemeanors is generally 1 year from the time of the offense.

How long does an arrest warrant for a California misdemeanor stay active?

California arrest warrants do not expire. They stay active forever, or until:

• you are arrested,
• the judge recalls the warrant, or
• you die.

This is true, even if the arrest warrant is for a misdemeanor offense. While it is active, the outstanding warrant can appear on your background check. It can even lead to your driver’s license suspension by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Once issued, police officers can execute an arrest warrant at any time. They can even execute the warrant months or years after it was issued. These warrants are usually executed during a traffic stop, especially if your arrest warrant is for a misdemeanor. These offenses are rarely serious enough for police to go out and search for you. Instead, law enforcement officers tend to wait until their next interaction with you.

While there may be a delay in the execution of the warrant, the offense that led to your warrant is still subject to the criminal statute of limitations.

How does the criminal statute of limitations work?

The criminal statute of limitations works by requiring law enforcement to initiate a case before a certain period of time has expired.

Under California law, prosecutors initiate a case by:

• filing an indictment, criminal information, or criminal complaint,
• bringing you in for an arraignment hearing, or
• issuing a bench warrant or an arrest warrant.¹

If the prosecutor does not do one of these things before the statute of limitations has expired, the criminal charges will be time-barred. Your criminal defense lawyer can ask that the charges be dismissed.

In California, the criminal statute of limitations is generally 1 year for misdemeanor offenses.² The time period begins when the offense is discovered, which is not necessarily when the criminal activity underlying the misdemeanor warrant took place.

However, there is no statute of limitations for the embezzlement of public money.³

The statute of limitations is also longer for felony offenses.⁴ Felony warrants for criminal cases that carry life in jail or the death penalty also have no statute of limitations.⁵

What about my right to a speedy trial?

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees you a right to a speedy trial. If police fail to execute an arrest warrant in a reasonable amount of time after the charging document, it can violate this constitutional right. In California, you can file a Serna Motion to try to get the case dismissed.

When police do not execute your arrest warrant soon after the alleged offense, it can impact the reliability of the evidence in the case. For example, the delay can lead to:

• witnesses forgetting what happened,
• camera footage being destroyed,
• documents being lost, and
• important people moving away from the area.

This can prejudice you by undermining your defense or increasing the odds of a wrongful conviction.

In California, if you have been arrested for an offense that happened a long time ago, you can file a Serna Motion. The name of the motion comes from a California Supreme Court case.⁶ The Motion argues that your speedy trial rights are being violated. Those rights come from:

• the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and
• Article I, Section 15 of the California State Constitution.

Filing the Motion will trigger a Serna hearing. At this court appearance, the judge will decide whether the delay was justified, and whether the length of the delay so prejudiced you that your rights were violated. If the judge determines that your rights were violated, they will dismiss the case.

Establishing an attorney-client relationship with a criminal defense attorney from a reputable law firm is the best way to prepare for and succeed at this hearing. With their legal help, you can get the case dismissed and avoid potential jail time.

Is this different from a bench warrant?

Misdemeanor arrest warrants are identical to bench warrants in that they do not expire.

There are, however, several other differences between an arrest and a bench warrant.

Most importantly, arrest warrants are issued after:

• law enforcement has shown a judge that there is probable cause to believe that you committed a crime, or
• a grand jury has issued an indictment.

Bench warrants, on the other hand, are issued after you violate a court order. This type of warrant is most commonly issued after you fail to appear for a mandatory court date or are being accused of committing a probation violation, like failing to perform community service.

Additional resources

For more information, refer to the following:

• National Crime Information Center – The FBI’s centralized database for accessing criminal justice information, including warrants.
• SearchQuarry.com – Public record provider with warrant searches by name, city or county.
• Vinelink.com – Free site to search for outstanding warrants and criminal records in participating states.
• PeopleFinders.com – Public records site providing warrant searches among other lookup services for a fee.
• CriminalWatchdog.com – Subscription service for continuous monitoring of criminal records and warrants.

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