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5 Situations In Which The Statute Of Limitations Can Be Altered

11 August 2016

Alexis Garcia

At both the federal and state levels of the justice system, statutes of limitations are set for various crimes to ensure accused individuals don't have to live their life in fear of a court case. While many crimes have periods of expiration as short as a few months in some states, there are ways to speed up or slow down a particular statute. Learn about the five situations that commonly alter time periods for criminal charges before either pressing charges or assuming you're safe from being charged.

Conspiracy Charges

If there's proof that a crime you committed in the past could be linked to dangerous behavior today, you can still be charged through the conspiracy statute. This is common in cases involving sex crimes, violence, abuse, or similar behaviors that are motivated by emotional disturbances. The prosecutor will need some kind of evidence that the behavior is still going on today, but they will be able to use the evidence and testimony from the otherwise expired case as well in order to further improve their claims. The charges may be combined or not depending on the judge and state variations on conspiracy law.

Court-Ordered Extensions

When there's a serious delay in procuring evidence or organizing witnesses, either side can request a court-ordered extension. Even if the opposite side agrees to the extension, the judge must also deem it necessary to the case. Many cases run into the statute of limitation deadlines due to a lack of evidence and end up being dismissed because there's no agreement on an extension. However, this can translate into years of delay for crimes with long statute periods. Depending on what you're accused of, that may translate into spending years in jail waiting out your time.

New Evidence Discoveries

In some unusual cases, state courts will suspend the usual statute of limitations because new evidence emerges that greatly increases the chances of the case succeeding. Every recent case has involved the discovery of DNA evidence in a sexual assault or rape case, but it has happened in the past in murder cases as well. However, this is a very rare occurrence because most states do not want to set a precedent for overruling the usual limitations on charges for specific types of crimes.

Legal Waivers

If both parties agree to it, the usual statute of limitations for a crime can be waived in order to settle an agreement. For example, you might agree to waive the expiration date on criminal charges if the party suing you agrees to an out-of-court settlement. This means that theoretically they could still press charges against you in the future, but a written agreement explaining the settlement can prevent this from being a problem in the future. Waiving your rights to a statute of limitations must be done with careful wording to avoid having charges pressed against you again later.

Tolling the Limitations

Finally, the state itself has a way to put a temporary stop on the statute of limitations clock for a particular crime. This is known as tolling, and states like Ohio use it to prevent cases from closing just because an accused individual is on the run and fleeing charges. Many areas invoke tolling allowances when a minor is the victim or perpetrator of a crime, or when there's a disability involved like mental illness. Tolling comes to an end eventually if the conditions triggering it are resolved, such as a victim turning 18 or a disability going away. Many criminals are caught because they assume they've passed the statute of limitations on a crime and weren't aware that tolling was taking place.

For more information about the statute of limitations, contact a criminal law attorney.

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