Expert: Robin Sexton - 6/23/2008

Question
I have a basic question in reference to "statue of limitations" and "life of a warrant"  If a warrant is issued for certain criminal offense, does that warrant stay valid until said person is arrested or charges are dropped?  I believe statue of limitations is how long the police have to arrest or file charges on a person for a certain crime.  I wouldn't expect warrants to just go away after a certain amount of time after they are issued for someone even if years had passed.

Answer
Janet,

You are correct.  Statute of limitations applies to the amount of time the state has to file charges.  Once a warrant is issued it is valid and can be served until the warrant is withdrawn by the court that issued it.

Hope that helped

Robin