Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Time limit on arrest warrants?...

[bombshell27]

I'm not sure if this is the proper arena for asking this question, but if anyone knows the answer, I would really appreciate it.

I am going to make this really long story short..my younger, immature sister got into some trouble with bad checks in another state. Because she was 22 or so at the time, and had other bad check warrants out for her, she had a high bail amount, with zero legal representation. My family and I were at our wits end and let her stay in jail for a month to possibly teach her a lesson. Here is my question...upon her release, she was on some sort of probation for, what I think is 6 months or so. On month 5 of this probabtion, she left that state and came to live with me in another state. I didn't know any the technical part of this until much later. This was 5 years ago..she has truly changed and grown up, putting herself through school. However...she must have some sort of warrant out for her, considering she just up and left. My question is this, Is there some sort of time limit or expiration on arrest warrants? Could I some how get in trouble for helping her find her way, here where I live? Ugh! Any advice would be appreciated. I want this whole thing behind us all..and not sure where to turn. She is too scared to go back.

Thanks for reading this far...have a great day..

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I am unaware of any "statue of limitations" for arrests under warrants and instituting one would not make sense and would be contrary to public policy. In essence, if such a statute existed then a criminal would just need to be good at deceiving the authorities in order to be exonerated from the crime! Doesn't make sense.

It is possible that there are no warrants out for her unless she was supposed to check in at a certain time and date. You may want an attorney to inquire since the attorney cannot be subpoenaed for information leading to your sister. There is no such "client-attorney" privilege of confidentiality with a natural person. You could always hire an investigator or have another person inquire confidentially as well. I would think that this could be worked out, especially if she has been clean for the past several years.

Note: I would definitely find out the entire story from your sister before deciding how to proceed.