text: how long does it take to issue an arrest warrant after the victim has pressed charges for attempted murder? this is in the state of west virginia although i know nothing about west virginia law, i know a fair amount about criminal procedure, and that's probably more at issue here than what state this took place in.  depending on the circumstances, i would expect there to have been a police report filed by the victim.  an investigation would follow (hours/days/weeks/months), followed by a review by the prosecutor's office (often known as the district attorney), which can also take hours/days/weeks/months.  assuming the prosecutor's office believes they have the information they need to successfully prosecute the suspect, (after reviewing all the information), they probably file an affidavit for arrest warrant with the local judge.  a judge can take as much or as little time as he/she wants to review the information (but i'd bet it would be handled pretty quick), and then the arrest warrant can be issued.  my best answer is that in any state, it can take a few hours to several days...or longer.  like i said, there's bound to be a fair amount of fact-gathering that has to take place before anyone decides when/if someone will be arrested for an offense...and gathering facts isn't always a quick process.  it's also possible (unless you know otherwise), that while the victim in the case you're asking about considers the crime to be attempted murder, the police (and the law) may consider it something else, altogether.  and depending on what the law considers it, this process could take significantly longer.