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Crime & Law Enforcement Issues & Death Penalty/Statute of Limitations
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Question
Is there a statute of limitations on traffic tickets? If they aren't paid for several years do they simply expire or are they on the books permanently?
You have the term "statute of limitations" confused with the "life of a warrant". "Statute of limitations" means that the police or government has a certain period of time to solve a crime and after that they time expires. With a traffic ticket the "crime" (or traffic violation) was solved the minute that you were handed the ticket thus there is no statute of limitations. If the officer would have said something like, "I'm busy right now but next week i will give you the ticket" and then he took a year and half to find you then the "statute of limitations" would have expired.
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Answers by Expert:
Jack Toomey
Expertise
Please do NOT ask questions about potential jail sentences that you or your friends may receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer or a parole officer so questions about those subjects will be rejected. I am a police officer with 26 years experience. Can answer questions about crime, police procedure, investigations, criminal law, search and seizure, traffic offenses. Prefer not to answer questions on the death penalty. Please do not ask homework questions. Remember this. The law in every state is different so questions about laws that are specific to your state could be difficult to answer. I also cannot give you legal advice on what to do or not to do in court. I have worked with authors in the past and will be happy to review scenarios or plots with authors to check for believability or accuracy.
Experience
Police officer with 26 years experience. Ten years in patrol and sixteen years in the detective bureau investigating every type of crime including murder, rape, robbery, theft, fraud, missing persons, etc, etc. Also taught at the police academy in areas such as constitutional law, search and seizure, and lineups.
Education/Credentials
B.S. in Criminology from the University of Maryland.
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