Legal Question in Criminal Law in Alabama

On Friday, May 25th, I received a letter from the Calhoun County (Alabama) District Attorney's office stating I had a complaint for an arrest on a worthless check. I immediately called about it. The letter stated that I had ten business days from the date on the letter to pay. The date on the letter was May 25, 2010. I was told that the check was from 1996. Wow. She told me that I could pay it on June 15th. She and I had a little dispute and she hung up on me. On Tuesday, May 29th, I was picked up at my home with my son there, handcuffed, and taken to jail. I tried to explain to the officer that I had a letter stating that I had ten days and that it was from the DA's office. He told me that the ten days started in 1996. I told him that the letter stated that I had ten days from the date of THAT letter. He said that it didn't matter. I had to bond out and I was given a court date. I went to the courthouse the next day to try to get a copy of the original arrest warrant and was told that I could not get any information on that because I had not yet went to court. In Alabama, the statue of limitations is one year on a bad check. I don't know if they issued the original warrant within that year or not because I was not allowed to see the report. However, I DO know that my letter stated I had ten days. I was not even given ONE day before I was arrested because I spoke to them on Friday and the next business day was Tuesday (because Monday was Memorial Day). I was picked up at 9:30 that morning. I have a court date in July. My intention is to plead not guilty. I want to know what my legal standing is. Was I falsely arrested? What can I do?


Asked on 6/05/10, 6:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Pfeifer Pfeifer LLC

If the warrant was not issued within the statute of limitations, then the case is due to be dismissed on that basis. If the warrant was issued within the statute of limitations and they just waited 14 years to serve the warrant on you, then the case is due to be dismissed based on a violation of your right to a speedy trial. If you knew about the existence of the warrant and have been avoiding arrest for all these years, then it would not be a speedy trial violation because you would be considered to be the one who created the reason for the delay. But if nothing like that occurred, then this charge should be dismissed as a violation of your right to a speedy trial.

Even if the judge refuses to dismiss based on the statute of limitations or on speedy trial grounds, it will be difficult for the State to produce the evidence necessary to support a conviction. If the judge won't dismiss it on the procedural grounds, you still have a good shot at winning the case based on the facts at a trial too.

That said, the likelihood of you getting it dismissed on your own is pretty slim. I would encourage you to hire a criminal defense lawyer who is familiar with the law on the right to a speedy trial, who can argue this issue on your behalf. If you would like to discuss the case with me, please feel free to give me a call or send me a private email. I have published articles and taught seminars on Alabama's right to a speedy trial, so I am very familiar with this issue. If I can be of assistance, please let me know.

William L. Pfeifer, Jr.

Attorney at Law

(800) 737-3702 Ext. 1

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Answered on 6/07/10, 4:21 am


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