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What happens if you are not indicted within 180 days?
In this article, you’ll learn about:
Let’s dig in.
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If you are not indicted within 180 days, the outcome and consequences can vary depending on the:
In the U.S., the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment guards your right to a speedy trial.
The Speedy Trial Act and other laws also push for trials to happen quickly.
Legal rules can be tricky and change based on location.
If you’re in legal trouble or think you might be, talk to a defense lawyer.
They can help you understand the laws and rules for your situation.
If you’re in jail waiting for charges, there’s a time limit.
The government has to indict you within a certain number of days.
This time limit varies by location.
In many places, the limit is 180 days.
This means the government must formally charge you within this time.
If they don’t indict you within 180 days, you could get out of jail.
This happens because the law says you can’t be held too long without being charged.
But, getting out doesn’t always mean you’re free for good.
The government might still charge you later.
Sometimes, if the case is special, the court may give the government extra time.
This means you might stay in jail longer before they charge you.
So, if you’re in jail and 180 days pass without an indictment, you could be released.
But, this depends on the rules in your area and the specifics of your case.
If the government doesn’t indict you within 180 days, the court might throw out your case.
This means the case ends and you don’t go to trial.
But, this isn’t a final goodbye to the charges.
The government can bring them back later.
There are two exceptions.
First, if the court says you can’t be tried for the same thing twice, known as double jeopardy.
Second, if too much time passes and the statute of limitations expires.
In these cases, the government can’t charge you again.
Sometimes the 180-day rule doesn’t apply, so the case might not get thrown out even if you’re not indicted in time.
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Sometimes, the government gets extra time to indict you, even if 180 days have passed.
Courts can grant this extension.
They do it if there’s a good reason.
For example, if the courts are very busy, they might need more time.
Sometimes witnesses aren’t available. In that case, the court might wait for them.
There could also be other special situations that make the court give more time.
This means that even if 180 days are over, the government can still bring charges against you.
The court decides if the reasons are valid for the extra time.
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In some places, there is no strict rule that says you must be indicted within 180 days.
This means the government doesn’t have to hurry to bring charges against you.
Different areas have different rules. Some crimes might not even have a set time frame for indictment.
In these cases, if 180 days pass and you’re not indicted, nothing special happens.
The government can still bring charges later, as long as it’s within the time allowed by law.
This could be months or even years.
The key point is that the 180-day mark isn’t a magic number everywhere.
The rules on when you must be indicted vary.
After an indictment, several steps follow:
Each step can affect your case’s outcome.
It’s crucial to understand them and to have a good defense strategy.
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When you get arrested, the police take you into custody.
They think you broke the law.
An arrest can happen on the spot if the police see you doing something illegal.
Or, it can happen later if they have enough evidence.
Being indicted is different.
It means a group of citizens, called a grand jury, reviewed some evidence.
They think there’s enough evidence to charge you with a crime.
It’s a formal way to accuse someone of a serious crime.
Now, let’s compare the two:
The two can be linked.
You might get arrested first.
Then, the case goes to a grand jury.
If they think there’s enough evidence, you get indicted.
But sometimes, the indictment can come first, and then you get arrested.
So, being arrested means the police take you in.
Being indicted means a grand jury thinks there’s enough evidence for a serious charge.
Both are part of the legal process, but they happen at different stages and for different reasons.
Read More: What Does Disposed Mean In Court?
Grounds for dismissal of an indictment are reasons why a court throws out criminal charges.
Here are some common grounds for dismissal of indictments:
In short, indictments can be dismissed for various reasons – from not enough evidence to legal mistakes.
When these issues are found, the court throws out the charges to ensure fairness and justice.
Yes, charges can be brought back after being dismissed.
Here’s how it works:
When a case is dismissed, it means the court has thrown it out.
But this doesn’t always mean it’s over for good.
There are two types of dismissals: with prejudice and without prejudice.
There’s also something called the statute of limitations.
It’s like a countdown.
It sets how much time the government has to charge you for a certain crime.
If the statute of limitations runs out, the charges can’t be brought back, even if the case was dismissed without prejudice.
In some cases, double jeopardy comes into play.
Double jeopardy means you can’t be tried for the same crime twice.
If you were already tried and the case was dismissed during the trial, double jeopardy might prevent the charges from being brought back.
Knowing the type of dismissal and understanding the rules of double jeopardy and the statute of limitations is key to knowing if charges can be brought back.
Here are other questions clients ask us related to what happens if you are not indicted within 180 days.
Yes, charges can be dropped after an indictment.
Here’s how it can happen:
A felony case can be pending for different lengths of time.
When someone is arrested, the case starts.
The prosecutor looks at the evidence and decides whether to file charges.
This usually happens quickly, often within a few days.
Next is the arraignment.
This is when the accused hears the charges and pleads guilty or not guilty.
This often happens within a month after the arrest.
The case then moves into the pre-trial phase.
Here, lawyers on both sides gather evidence.
They might negotiate a plea deal.
This phase can take several months.
If no deal is made, the case goes to trial.
The time it takes to get to trial varies.
It depends on how busy the courts are and how complex the case is.
This can add more months to the process.
Now, consider the Speedy Trial Act.
It says that a trial must start within 70 days of charges being filed.
But there are exceptions.
If there are delays for good reasons, like gathering evidence, the clock can pause.
Another factor is the statute of limitations.
This sets a deadline for when charges can be filed.
For some felonies, it might be a few years.
For others, there is no time limit.
The length of time you can be held in jail without being convicted depends on several factors:
If you are facing an indictment, fill out the form on this page.
Our criminal defense attorneys have the experience you need to defend your rights.
This way, you don’t:
You deserve a fair trial in the criminal justice system.
We can provide you with that.
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