Q: Is my son's nearly 6-year-old pending case in California beyond the statute of limitations due to court delays?

A: The only "statute of limitations" in criminal law applies to the filing of charges by the DA, not to the timing of a "speedy trial" after charges are filed in court. The California Criminal Code provides deadlines for certain courtroom proceedings, such as preliminary hearings and trials, but those deadlines can be waived by the defendant. Deadlines can be reactivated when a defendant decides to withdraw a waiver. A defendant's lawyer may waive or withdraw a waiver only upon the consent of the defendant in open court. After charges are filed, unjustifiable delays in bringing a case to trial that are attributable to the prosecution can be challenged by the defendant with a Serna motion where, if the motion is granted, the remedy is dismissal of the case by the court.

A: Your son's situation involves complex legal timing considerations that go beyond simple statute of limitations rules. In California, the statute of limitations generally refers to the deadline for filing charges, not completing a case that's already in the court system. Since your son was already arrested and charges were filed, the typical statute of limitations no longer applies in the traditional sense.

What may be more relevant is your son's constitutional right to a speedy trial. However, this right becomes complicated when defendants or their attorneys request or agree to continuances, which appears to have happened multiple times in your son's case with the frequent hearings and changes in legal representation. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic created extraordinary circumstances where many courts issued emergency orders extending deadlines and postponing proceedings.

The "five-year limit" mentioned by the bail bondsman doesn't align with standard California criminal procedure rules. Your best course of action would be to have your son discuss this directly with his current public defender, who can evaluate whether there are grounds for a motion to dismiss based on speedy trial violations. The defender would need to review the entire case history to determine if the delays were justified, who requested them, and whether your son's rights have been prejudiced by the extended timeline.