How Long Can You Be Held Without Charges?

In the United States, the government cannot arrest and hold someone indefinitely. It must follow strict legal limits and rules set by the Constitution, Supreme Court caselaw, and state law. These rules exist to protect your rights against unreasonable or unjustified detention.

After an arrest, police must quickly show a judge why they believe you committed a crime. Courts also have time limits for filing charges, holding arraignments, and bringing a case to trial. Understanding these rights can help you recognize when the system is working and when the government may be overstepping its bounds.

This article breaks down the arrest process from something simple like a traffic stop​ gone wrong to your initial appearance in court. We review mandatory time frames the states must follow when you’re in their custody and what happens when they don’t.

If you or a loved one has been arrested, you’ll want to understand the conditions surrounding your detention and release. Consider speaking with a criminal defense lawyer​ licensed in your state who can help you understand your legal options. If criminal charges are filed, they can negotiate with prosecutors on your behalf for a reduction or dismissal.

In the meantime, let’s start by looking at what happens during the arrest process.

The Arrest Process: From Stop to Booking

There are usually steps that precede and follow an actual arrest by law enforcement. We briefly review these stages below.

Initial Stop

The arrest process usually begins with a stop. This is when police restrict a person’s movement so that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave.

Under the Fourth Amendment, a stop is considered a seizure. Officers must have reasonable suspicion, supported by specific facts, that the person is involved in criminal activity. A stop is brief and investigative, allowing officers to ask focused questions and observe the situation.

Police Detainment

If the officer needs more time to investigate but still lacks sufficient evidence for an arrest, the stop becomes a detention. Also known as detainment, detention is still based on reasonable suspicion​. It can involve slightly longer holding, additional questioning, or safety measures, such as a pat-down, if the officer reasonably suspects the person is armed.

Even during detention, the person is not under arrest. The police officer must work to confirm or rule out their suspicions.

Arrest

If the officer develops probable cause, they may arrest the person. Probable cause​ is the reasonable belief that a crime was committed and that the person was involved. An arrest usually involves physical restraint and transport to a police station, where the person is now in custody.

Miranda Rights

If law enforcement officers want to interrogate someone while in custody, they must first read them their Miranda rights, which explain the rights to remain silent and to legal representation.

This may come before or after booking, but it must happen before custodial interrogation. It’s a constitutional right, intended to protect people from being pressured into answering questions while in police custody without legal representation.

Miranda warnings are required only if both conditions are met: the person is in custody, and law enforcement conducts an interrogation. Volunteered statements or conversations initiated by the suspect do not require Miranda warnings. Routine booking questions, on-scene investigatory questions before arrest, or public safety questions aren’t considered custodial interrogations that trigger Miranda warnings.

Booking

Booking is the administrative process that follows being taken into custody. When police book someone, they record details about the person and the arrest in the police station‘s system.

It also typically involves:

• Taking fingerprints and photos
• Logging and storing personal belongings
• Booking data uploaded to state/local systems
• Checking for past warrants​
• Placing the person in a holding cell

Depending on the situation, the person may be allowed to make a phone call, post bail, or wait to see a judge. Booking doesn’t mean someone is guilty. It’s just the process police use to document and process an arrest.

What Happens After an Arrest?

After someone is arrested, each state has a different timeline for what happens next. The one fixed deadline that all states must follow is for a probable cause​ determination.

Probable Cause Determination

The majority of arrests in the United States​ occur without warrants. When police arrest someone without a warrant, a judge must determine whether law enforcement had probable cause at the time of the arrest.

This probable cause determination is a constitutional requirement under the Fourth Amendment. Its purpose is to decide whether the arrest and continued detention are lawful. It prevents the government from holding people in jail based only on an officer’s word.

To make their decision, the judge may examine:

• Police reports
• Sworn statements
• Testimony
• Other evidence​ available at the time

This can be a paper review without the suspect present.

As the Supreme Court held in County of Riverside v. McLaughlin (1991), the probable cause determination must occur within 48 hours of an arrest. If it doesn’t, the person’s detention is presumptively unconstitutional unless the government can show a true emergency or extraordinary circumstance. Administrative delays, weekends, holidays, or staffing shortages don’t excuse a late determination.

If the judge finds no probable cause, the state must release the person. A confirmation of probable cause allows the case to move forward. This also occurs if the arrest was made on a valid warrant, as a judge already had to find probable cause to issue the warrant.

While the probable cause determination and arraignment often occur during the same court appearance, they serve different legal purposes. The probable cause review confirms the lawfulness of the arrest, while the arraignment formally notifies the defendant of charges and sets conditions of release.

Arraignment

Soon after law enforcement arrests someone, the court sets a date for their arraignment. At an arraignment, the suspect appears before a judge. During this court appearance, the judge informs the defendant of the following:

• The criminal charges​ they face
• Their right to an attorney (if the defendant cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint a public defender)
• The conditions of their release
• The date of their preliminary hearing or trial

If the judge finds that the defendant is likely to return to court, they may release the defendant on their own recognizance. This is usually the case with misdemeanor charges.

For more serious charges, the defendant may have to post bail to be released. If the judge determines that the defendant may not return to court voluntarily, they may order the defendant to remain in jail until their trial.

It’s critical to understand that release from custody due to missed deadlines does not automatically dismiss criminal charges. Prosecutors may still file or refile charges later, subject to the state’s statute of limitations and other legal constraints.

How Long Can the State Hold You Before Filing Charges?

Each state has different laws regarding detention times. After an arrest, police and prosecutors generally have between 24 and 72 hours to justify holding someone, though some states have longer or shorter timelines. Each state sets its own deadlines for arraignments. Some use a single arraignment deadline, while others have different timelines for misdemeanors and felonies.

In some jurisdictions, prosecutors must file formal charges before arraignment. In others, charges can be filed at the arraignment itself. Regardless of the timing, if the arraignment deadline passes without charges being filed or the defendant appearing before a judge, the detention becomes unlawful.

Since the probable cause review and filing of formal charges must come before arraignment, most states use the arraignment deadline as the practical deadline for filing charges. Some states set an early first-appearance deadline and give the prosecutor more time after that initial hearing to file charges. In these cases, the formal arraignment occurs later.

If charges aren’t filed or the arraignment doesn’t occur by the deadline, the state must release the person. It can still file charges later. For cases in which charges are timely filed, arraignment timing varies by state. Let’s look at a few examples.

California

California law​ requires arraignment within 48 hours of the arrest, excluding Sundays and court holidays. An arraignment cannot occur until the prosecution files charges, meaning that prosecutors in California have 48 hours to decide whether to do so.

In practice, it’s very common for the probable cause determination and the arraignment to happen during the same court appearance. The 48-hour probable cause review can’t exclude weekends or holidays.

Let’s say police arrest someone​ at 9 p.m. on Friday night. The 48-hour arraignment clock runs Friday and Saturday, but pauses for Sunday (except for the probable cause determination). The probable cause does not pause; in this example, the deadline is Sunday at 9 p.m., and the judge will likely do it on paper prior to arraignment. The arraignment deadline becomes Monday night at 9 p.m.

This is often later than when courts are open. In such cases, the arraignment must occur​ on Monday during court hours. If it doesn’t by the end of the court day on Monday, the detention becomes unlawful, and the state must release the person, despite the 48‑hour arraignment deadline technically ending at 9 p.m.

Keep in mind that the release is from custody, not the case. These deadlines are intended to protect the person from illegal detention, and the prosecution can still file charges​ later.

New York

New York law​ requires an arrestee’s appearance before a judge “without unnecessary delay.” This is a reference to the arraignment, and New York courts have interpreted it to allow a maximum of 24 hours to hold someone before arraignment.

Delays beyond 24 hours require the police to justify the delay. Administrative delays, such as paperwork or shift changes, aren’t considered valid excuses. In practice, New York’s probable cause reviews typically occur on paper, without the suspect present, minutes or hours before the arraignment.

New York doesn’t pause the clock for Sundays or holidays. Someone arrested Saturday night must usually be arraigned during daytime arraignment sessions on Sunday.

Federal Arrests

The law treats federal arrests differently. This is when federal agents from an agency, like the FBI or the DEA, arrest someone for a federal crime. These cases follow the rules of the federal criminal justice system.

Federal law enforcement rules tend to allow more flexibility. Federal law requires a prompt appearance before a magistrate judge​ “without unnecessary delay.” Absent exceptional circumstances, this means 48 hours, though courts allow up to 72 hours for exigencies that make an earlier appearance impossible.

While most federal arrestees see a federal judge​ within 48 and 72 hours, the logistics of fewer judges and larger geographic areas sometimes cause delays. Courts have interpreted the law to allow delays beyond 48 hours if they’re fact-specific and justified.

What About Immigration Detention?

Immigration detention is not the same as criminal detention. As such, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)​ doesn’t have the same hour‑based time limits. It follows different rules set by civil immigration laws.

Immigration detention​ is legally considered civil custody, not punishment. The constitutional rules that force quick criminal charges don’t apply in the same way.

While caselaw on prolonged civil detention is evolving, the Supreme Court has imposed a presumptive six-month limit​ on detention after a final removal order has been issued. After that, ICE must show that removal is reasonably foreseeable. You can learn more about limits on ICE detention in our article, How Long Can ICE Hold Someone in Detention Before Deportation?​

What Happens After Arraignment?

After the arraignment, the case enters the pretrial stage. The defense and prosecution exchange evidence, interview witnesses, and file motions asking the judge to allow or block certain elements. The judge may hold hearings to settle these issues.

Most criminal cases end here through plea deals. If the two sides can’t reach an agreement, the prosecution can either drop the case or proceed to trial.

The Right to a Speedy Trial

The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees criminal defendants the right to a speedy trial. This means the government cannot delay the case for too long.

The Constitution​ doesn’t give exact deadlines. Instead, it requires the state to move the case forward within a reasonable amount of time. The states set the rules for the length of time the prosecution has to bring the case to trial.

Felonies usually have longer time limits for bringing a case to trial than misdemeanors. This is based on the assumption that more serious charges require more:

• Preparation
• Evidence​
• Procedural steps

In Florida, misdemeanor trials must begin within 90 days of arrest. Felony trials get 175 days. Illinois doesn’t distinguish speedy trial deadlines by misdemeanor or felony, but instead sets a 120-day rule for those in custody. If a defendant is released on bond or under pretrial supervision, the prosecution has 160 days.

In most states, if prosecutors don’t bring the case to trial within the required time, the judge must dismiss the charges unless the defendant caused the delays. Some states allow the case to be refiled, but many dismiss it with prejudice, meaning the case is gone for good.

Illinois law requires judges to dismiss​ the case if the prosecution misses the speedy-trial deadline, but the dismissal can be without prejudice. This means the prosecution may refile the charges unless another law prevents it.

What Can You Do if Your Rights Are Violated?

If the state fails to meet the speedy trial or arraignment deadlines, a defendant doesn’t typically get an automatic release. While it can occur when the 48-hour probable cause deadline is violated, it’s somewhat rare.

In this section, we review how an attorney can secure a release for other violations of your legal rights.

Speedy‑Trial Violations

If the government takes too long to bring a case to trial, your lawyer can file a motion to dismiss​ or a petition for release with the court. A judge decides whether the delay is the state’s fault. If they agree, they’ll dismiss the case and release the person.

Unlawful Detention Violations

If the state keeps you in custody after charges are dropped or an arraignment deadline is missed, your lawyer may file a motion for bond or a motion to dismiss.

In some states, where no other remedy exists, your attorney will likely file a writ of habeas corpus. This is a formal request asking a judge to review whether your detention is lawful. If the judge finds the detention unlawful, they’ll order your release.

Dedicated Legal Advice

If you or a family member suspects that your detention, arrest, or other circumstances may be interfering with your rights, speak with a lawyer who’s well-versed in the criminal laws of your state. You can share details with them confidentially so they can help you understand your options.

While your release is the top priority, they can also explain the legal defenses that may be available​ to you if you’re facing charges. Depending on the circumstances, your attorney may also discuss additional civil remedies for unlawful detention or unreasonable seizure. That way, you can make informed decisions about the best way to proceed.

Not many people know how to find a defense attorney they can trust. Recognizing this, FindLaw sourced its own directory of qualified criminal defense attorneys​ and made it available to the public at no charge. This allows you to review credentials, ratings, and other information for experts in your area, including those who offer free consultations.

Look for someone with experience in cases similar to yours and plan to meet with them sooner rather than later. A strong advocate can be your most important ally when you’re facing criminal charges.