Bail Questions • After an Arrest • Arizona
How Long Is the Wait for a Criminal Trial in Maricopa County?
In Maricopa County the wait for a criminal trial is commonly six months to more than a year for a felony, and a few months for a misdemeanor.
Quick answer
In Maricopa County the wait for a criminal trial is commonly six months to more than a year for a felony, and a few months for a misdemeanor. Rule 8.2 sets limits of 150 days from arraignment for a person in custody and 180 days out of custody, but excludable time stretches them.
The speedy trial clock under Rule 8.2
Arizona's speedy trial rule sets outer limits measured from arraignment: 150 days for a person held in custody, 180 days for a person out of custody, and 270 days for a case the court designates complex. Those are the numbers people find online, and they are real, but they are not the typical wait.
The rule excludes time for continuances, competency evaluations, defense requests and similar delays. Every excluded day moves the deadline. A single defense continuance to review new disclosure can add weeks; a competency screening can add months. Because most delays are requested by one side or the other for a reason, cases rarely go to trial on the earliest date the rule allows. A defense attorney can explain how the clock is running in a specific case, and whether pushing for an early trial date makes sense.
Why real cases take longer than the rule
In practice, many felony cases in Maricopa County Superior Court take six months to more than a year from arraignment. Before trial there are disclosure deadlines, pretrial conferences, plea offers, motions and settlement conferences. Lab results, body camera review and expert reports all take time. Most cases resolve by plea before trial ever starts, often at a late pretrial conference.
That timeline matters to the family in two ways. The bond stays in force the whole time, until the court exonerates it after dismissal, plea, acquittal or sentencing, so the cosigner's obligation can run a year or more. And every setting during that year is a court date the person must attend. A missed date brings a bench warrant and starts forfeiture under Rule 7.6 and A.R.S. 13-3974, no matter how routine the hearing was.
Misdemeanor timelines in city and justice court
Misdemeanor cases move faster. In the Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler and other city courts, and in the Maricopa County justice courts, arraignment is often the first setting after release, followed by a pretrial conference and, if nothing resolves, a trial date. Many misdemeanor cases are finished in a few months. DUI cases can run longer because of blood results and license proceedings.
The same rules about appearance apply. A misdemeanor failure to appear is charged under A.R.S. 13-2507, and the court issues a bench warrant the same day. If the person was released on a misdemeanor bond, the agent gets the forfeiture notice and the cosigner gets a call. Confirm every date on the court's online record rather than relying on the paperwork from the jail.
Why posting bond changes the wait
The wait is the same whether the person is in custody or out. What changes is where it is spent. A person held at the Durango complex for eight months loses a job, often a home, and meets the lawyer through jail video. A person out on bond keeps working, pays the lawyer, gathers records and shows up to each hearing in street clothes.
A surety bond costs a premium of typically 10% of the bail under rates filed with DIFI, not refundable, with payment plans for qualified cosigners. The bond itself lasts until the case ends and the court exonerates it, so the cosigner should expect the obligation to run as long as the case does. An honest agent will say that up front rather than suggest the bond ends at release.
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Related Questions
What is excludable time in a criminal case?
It is time the speedy trial rule does not count toward the deadline: continuances requested by the defense, competency proceedings, delays the defendant causes, and similar periods. Each excluded stretch pushes the trial deadline later, which is why real waits exceed the 150 and 180 day figures.
Can you stay in jail the whole time while waiting for trial?
Yes, if no bond is posted and the judge did not release the person on own recognizance. A person in custody on a felony has a shorter speedy trial limit, generally 150 days from arraignment, but excludable time can extend it, and some people wait many months inside.
Do most criminal cases in Arizona go to trial?
No. Most felony and misdemeanor cases in Maricopa County resolve by plea agreement before trial, often at a late pretrial or settlement conference. Trials happen in a small share of cases. The waiting period is mostly disclosure, motions and negotiation between the lawyers.
Does a bail bond last until the trial is over?
Yes. The bond stays in force until the case ends by dismissal, plea, acquittal or sentencing and the court exonerates it. That can be more than a year on a serious felony. The cosigner's obligation and any collateral stay in place for that whole period.
Can the cosigner get out of the bond if the case takes a year?
Not simply by asking. The cosigner can request that the agent surrender the defendant, which ends the bond but returns the person to custody, and the premium is not refunded. Otherwise the obligation runs until exoneration. Call One Stop Bail Bonds any hour and an agent will walk you through it.