How long did it take the DA to charge me after the incident? (Santa Clara County)
Quick note before you read: this is my own story and general information, not legal advice. I'm not a lawyer, every case is different, and nothing here can tell you what will happen in yours.
The incident happened on Day 0. Here's the timeline:
- Day 0: The incident.
- Day 1: The police arrested me on a felony domestic violence allegation — a felony, not a misdemeanor.
- Day 2: Released from county jail (Milpitas) on a bail bond. I paid $4,000 — 10% of the $40,000 bail.
- Day 52: The DA's office (the prosecutor) formally charged me.
- Day 62: The arraignment in court.
After I was released on Day 2, there was a long wait — wondering when, if at all, the DA would actually charge me. I was paranoid, anxious, and upset. I searched for my record on the public portal dozens of times a day to see whether charges had been filed. I kept telling myself that maybe the prosecutor would see my case as one of those borderline ones and dismiss it — that maybe there wouldn't be enough evidence to move forward.
Every day, I asked ChatGPT the same questions. Different scenarios, slightly different wording. And it kept giving me wildly different answers, even when I barely changed the prompt.
Time passed. One day. Two days. Then a week. Then two weeks. Then a month. Still no charge. My arraignment had been set for Day 62 almost immediately — back around Day 1. I'd read (from ChatGPT and online forums) that if the DA didn't charge me before then, the case would likely be dismissed. So as the date crept closer with nothing filed, I let myself get more and more hopeful that maybe I wouldn't be charged at all. I was asking ChatGPT the same question at least 20 times a day, for weeks.
"It's been 20 days and I still haven't been charged. What does that mean?"
Six weeks passed. Still nothing. Even ChatGPT started telling me that a stretch this long might mean something — maybe this was one of those cases the DA saw as weak. Maybe.
Now only 10 days were left before the arraignment, with a week-long holiday in the middle. I was more confident than ever that I might be off the hook.
Then one day something occurred to me, and I asked ChatGPT the same question with one new detail: that my arraignment date had already been set, and I still hadn't been charged.
This time, it told me that in that case, the silence meant nothing. Understood — but now I was even more anxious.
Then, on Day 52, I saw my name appear with a new charge on the portal: Criminal – Family Violence. I was devastated. Scared. Hopeless. But in the end, I still had to respond.
What I took from it — my experience only: in my case, in Santa Clara County, the charge didn't land until close to the arraignment date that had already been set. I can't tell you whether that's typical; I only have my own case to go on. My best guess is backlog — DV caseloads here have grown a lot, prosecutors are stretched, and a case that already has an arraignment on the calendar may simply not get looked at until that date is near. But "no charge yet" did not mean I was in the clear.
▎ Santa Clara County domestic violence cases more than doubled since 2019, and the D.A.'s Office has faced budget pressure that could cut staff needed to prosecute them. — KTVU
▎ https://www.ktvu.com/news/santa-clara-county-domestic-violence-cases-more-than-double-since-2019
If I could go back, I'd tell myself one thing: assume the charge is coming, and use the wait to get ready instead of refreshing a portal. The anxiety of waiting — and not preparing for what was coming — wasn't worth it.
General information from personal experience — not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship. This is one person's timeline, not a prediction for yours. Some cases genuinely need a lawyer: if yours involves an injury, a prior, a weapon, immigration concerns, or a protective or no-contact order, please talk to a lawyer or the public defender's office (free if you qualify).
