Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

If you were arrested for a criminal charge and bailed out, even though the prosecutor doesn't file charges within a few days or weeks, the Prosecutor could still file charges within the statutory period. You need to contact your bail company to get assurances they will reassume the bond, should charges be brought. You should then check a couple times a week, for the next several months, so you aren't surprised with a warrant and possibly re-arrested. I wish you well........David

If you went through a bail bonds company, they posted a bond for the bail amount to get you out of custody. If the DA doesn't file charges within 15 days, the bond gets exonerated and the bail bond company gets all their money back. That doesn't mean that the DA cannot file charges after that time period. They have up until the statute of limitations to file charges. On most misdemeanors, it's a year and on most felonies it's three years.

If they decide to file charges later, they could ask for bail to be set and you'd have to repost the bail or be taken into custody. You should speak to your bail company about having them be willing to reissue the bond without any cost to you if that happens.

Spend this time to look for an attorney as well. They may be able to argue for you to be release without having to post any additional bail at all.