Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: charges

The statute of limitations is 6 years. (So, a charge would have to be filed within 6 years of the crime date.) But, in drug cases, many times a charge is not issued until the evidence is tested in a crime lab and a report is received. That can take many, many months, due to back logs at the MSP crime lab.

For marijuana charges, our office generally relies on a police field test of the substance to prove that it was a specific controlled substance. That provides probable cause evidence. We can charge on that, and then at least get the case started in court. Usually, by the time the trial is scheduled, the crime lab work is done.