Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Statute of Limitations

I am sad to have to inform you that the Statute of Limitations applies only to the filing of an action. I assume that you refer to a situation where a ticket was issued and you failed to respond to it in Court. Hence, the case was filed and the Statute stopped running. Other rights apply to limit too lengthy of a delay in allowing a speedy trial. This right operates primarily in cases where a misdemeanor (or felony) is being investigated and then a case is filed. If the State doesn't take reasonably diligent steps to notify the accused and/or bring s/he before the Court, after a year or so, the charges will have been delayed beyond the speedy trial concept and can be dismissed. The problem in your example is that undoubtedly you were required to sign a promise to appear, showing that you knew of the existence of the charges. It is not cast in stone, however. At least one case involved a DUI where the defendant did not remember signing the promise to appear (and blamed that on his alcoholism - great chutzpa) and the Court held that the State still had to seek him out and notify him of the warrant. As a practical matter, traffic infractions remain in the computer for up to ten years max. DUI's maybe longer.