Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

How Long Must I Wait?

A couple of weeks ago I asked a question.(THANK YOU for the replies) The heading was, ''Are Phone Records Enough For An Arrest?''

That very same day two detectives came to my house with a search warrant. They took all my computer equipment and files, notes and books. This was the 27th of June. Since then I have spoke to a few Criminal Attorneys, all of which say the same thing, ''not to do anything until I have been charged...''

It is now exactly two weeks later and no charges (warrants for my arrest) had been filed.

How long do they (the detectives) have before they must either file charges or allow me to retrieve what was taken during the search.

All this ''not knowing what's next'' is driving me crazy. Unfortunately, both criminal attorneys I spoke with say NOT to contact the detectives, but how else am I to find out whats going on? HELP!


Asked on 7/11/01, 9:53 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Jerome Goldfein Jerome Goldfein

Re: How Long Must I Wait?

You can hire an attorney to be the contact between you, the DA and the police. You are advised not to talk to the police.

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Answered on 7/13/01, 10:38 am
Victor Hobbs Victor E. Hobbs

Re: How Long Must I Wait?

The police are not time constrained in investigating a criminal case.

So the time of two months to review your records and the time of several months to return your records is not unusual. Then the report goes to the D. A. to review. And if the D. A. wants more information they send it back to the police for further investigation.

The advice from the criminal law specialists was that if the police, who are working several cases at one time, delay in completing their investigation, it is possibly to your good.

These people are not perfect, and things get lost, which is to your benefit. So If you desperately need these records you may want to inquire about your records and specifically arrange for an intermediary (an attorney) to inquire about the release of certain records.

However, if you had a fire which destroyed your records, you'd arrange to replace only the essential records from another source. I'd consider that as an alternative. If you talk to the police you may find that later on they'll be misquoting you when they testify.

Lots of luck

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Answered on 7/12/01, 1:22 pm


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