§ 135.745 Delay in finding an indictment or filing an information

If you're arrested and held to answer for a crime, prosecutors have 30 days to formally charge you. This means the district attorney must either get a grand jury indictment or file a document called an information in circuit court. If neither of these happens within that 30-day window, the court is supposed to dismiss the case.

There's an exception, though. If prosecutors have a good reason for the delay, the judge can let the case continue past the 30-day mark. So this rule doesn't guarantee an automatic dismissal in every case. It just sets a deadline that pushes the state to move forward with charges or explain why they haven't.

For someone who has been arrested, this rule matters because it prevents the government from holding charges over their head indefinitely without taking real action. It gives a clear timeline and a way to challenge unreasonable delays. If you think this rule applies to your situation, it's worth asking a defense attorney whether the deadline was missed and whether the state had a valid excuse.