Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

For most criminal cases, including fleeing an officer (in a vehicle), the statute of limitations in Wisconsin is six years. One exception to the six year limit is homicide--there is no statute of limitations deadline for murder. The statute of limitations only requires that the lawsuit (prosecution) be commenced before the time period expires. Once commenced, there is no limit on how it may take to conclude the case. Therefore, once an arrest warrant is issued there effectively is no statute of limitations. The running of the six years is also tolled (stopped) for any time period when the defendant is outside of the state or otherwise unavailable for prosecution. My comments in this public web forum are offered only for general public educational purposes and are not legal advice directed toward you; nor do they create an attorney client relationship between us. However, you are welcome to contact my Racine office to discuss retaining me or to set up a free initial consultation.