What is the 33-day rule for filing formal charges?

Florida's rules of criminal procedure set outside limits on custody where no formal charging document has been filed. The structure has two stages: a point at which a person held without charges may be released on their own recognizance unless the State shows good cause, and a later point at which release becomes mandatory if nothing has been filed.

Two things worth understanding about it.

It governs custody, not prosecution. Release under this rule doesn't dismiss anything. The State can file charges afterward, and frequently does. A person released this way is out, not clear.

It requires someone to raise it. The clock doesn't enforce itself, and people sit past these dates because nobody filed the motion. This is a concrete reason to have counsel involved during the pre-filing period rather than waiting for an arraignment date.