How long can a charge be valid?

[mary6265]

I live in Michigan and was caught with 2 ounces of marijuana in December of 2004 and my car was impounded. I went to my arraignment and the court had nothing about me or my case on file. I had a lawyer who was in constant contact with the court for months following the incident and nothing was ever done regarding this case. I myself was down at police headquarters for 3-4 months following trying to get my car back so I definately was not hiding. Since then I have not been contacted by the city of Detroit regarding any of this and a prosecuting attorney for the city told us that it was probably dropped so I took this as some form of good luck since I want to go into the medical profession but always wondered if this would come back to haunt me. Now a few weeks ago in May of 2006 a friend of mine was driving my car and got pulled over at which point the officer asked for all of our ID's. When he returned he asked me to step out of the car and handcuffed me saying I had a warrant for my arrest, misdemeanor drug related charges from the city of Detroit. I have called down to the city myself to verify my court date at which point they told me they had nothing on record. Somehow my lawyer found out that they had sent me a notice in March of 2005 to the wrong address. Is there some kind of limit as far as charging me with this? Aren't Americans entitled to a "quick and speedy trial"? I did everything in my power to deal with this when it happened and payed many fees to my lawyer for time spent on this case. Now am I entitled to any rights because the city messed up? I have never had a warrant in my life and never would have let that happen. Thank you.

 

[moburkes]

I live in Michigan and was caught with 2 ounces of marijuana in December of 2004 and my car was impounded. I went to my arraignment and the court had nothing about me or my case on file. I had a lawyer who was in constant contact with the court for months following the incident and nothing was ever done regarding this case. I myself was down at police headquarters for 3-4 months following trying to get my car back so I definately was not hiding. Since then I have not been contacted by the city of Detroit regarding any of this and a prosecuting attorney for the city told us that it was probably dropped so I took this as some form of good luck since I want to go into the medical profession but always wondered if this would come back to haunt me. Now a few weeks ago in May of 2006 a friend of mine was driving my car and got pulled over at which point the officer asked for all of our ID's. When he returned he asked me to step out of the car and handcuffed me saying I had a warrant for my arrest, misdemeanor drug related charges from the city of Detroit. I have called down to the city myself to verify my court date at which point they told me they had nothing on record. Somehow my lawyer found out that they had sent me a notice in March of 2005 to the wrong address. Is there some kind of limit as far as charging me with this? Aren't Americans entitled to a "quick and speedy trial"? I did everything in my power to deal with this when it happened and payed many fees to my lawyer for time spent on this case. Now am I entitled to any rights because the city messed up? I have never had a warrant in my life and never would have let that happen. Thank you.

How did they get that "wrong address"?

 

[Xplztness]

Gay ass system

Thats what the system does to , They are lame as **** like that.

 

[magic55]

No your not entitled to any "special" rights You committed the crime. But hopefully after explaing the situation, your lawyer and the DA can reach a pretty good deal.

What did they do after they arrested you?

 

[mary6265]

How did they get that "wrong address"?

My address is 457 and they sent informatiojn to 547

 

[mary6265]

No your not entitled to any "special" rights You committed the crime. But hopefully after explaing the situation, your lawyer and the DA can reach a pretty good deal.

What did they do after they arrested you?

Threatened to hit in the head me with a flashlight, wanted me to snitch but I did give them enough information I think they were trying to catch the supplier. I was held until the police returned from raiding the house then released with a arraignment date 12 days later. I just don't understand how I was in constant contact with the police department and they never notified me. Is there no time limit for them to prosecute?

 

[magic55]

Thats what happened when they arrested you for the warrant????

 

[mary6265]

Thats what happened when they arrested you for the warrant????

I was not arrested for the warrant, I was asked to bond out on the side of the road in Northern Oakland County and given a court date of May 31st. My lawyer went down to the court and found out that my actual arraignment date was on the 1st of June. I tried to call down to the courthouse to confirm my date and I could not get any information at all regarding my case after being transferred to records, criminal division, traffic division and warrant department.

 

[Joi in Arizona]

Threatened to hit in the head me with a flashlight, wanted me to snitch but I did give them enough information I think they were trying to catch the supplier. I was held until the police returned from raiding the house then released with a arraignment date 12 days later. I just don't understand how I was in constant contact with the police department and they never notified me. Is there no time limit for them to prosecute?

I would have your attorney submit that you had a quasi-contract with the police. Quasi-contract is a contract created by the court in the interest of fairness. At the tiime of arrest, you provided them with information that lead to the arrest of a bigger fish, it could be agrued that in the interest of fairness, charges should be dropped. But I would definitely talk to your attorney about possible quasi-contract issues. I have no idea if there is any precedent in your state for this sort of defense, but I do know that I have read cases where this sort of defense worked.

 

[moburkes]

Joi-why did you respond to a thread that is almost a month old?