how long does an district attorney have to repick up a felony case?

Question

felony counterfeit of five dollar bills with no evidence

Answer 1

Well if no evidence, it will never be picked back up.

Assuming that, at a later time, there was evidence that a particular person possessed or printed those counterfeit bills, the general answer is that it depends on the state. Each state has a law (or set of laws) called a "statute of limitations." A statute of limitations says how long after the date of the offense a charge can be filed. Most states have different lengths depending on the seriousness of the offense. Thus, for a misdemeanor, a typical statute of limitations might be a year or less. For a minor felony, somewhere between three and five of years is not unusual. For murder and other serious felonies, there might not be a statute of limitations.

Most state laws are now on-line. I would suggest going to the website of the state in question and looking under their criminal procedure laws for something regarding time for commencing prosecutions if you want a more precise answer.

Answer 2

They have up until the statute of limitations expires. Some states suspend the running of the statute of limitations from the date the indictment is handed down until the charges are either dismissed or withdrawn.