The Judge has no way knowing whether charges will be filed, or not, the Prosecutor's office makes that decision and it is unlikely that they had an opportunity to review the evidence and make a charging decision the morning your son was released. The prosecutor has up to one year from the date of arrest to file charges in a misdemeanor case, after the year, charges will be barred by the statute of limitations. Assuming your son is not prosecuted for DUI, or any other possible crime that was committed during the incident that caused him to be arrested, he will still have an arrest record. He may petition the court for a "finding or factual innocence" which will clear the arrest from his criminal record too. He should contact an attorney to discuss the facts of his case and the next possible steps.
Answered on Mar 22nd, 2013 at 9:49 AM