Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS - comprehensive listing

Thanks for your posting. The statutes of limitations for criminal cases are generally contained within the California Penal Code, sections 799, et seq., which unfortunately are too long to list here. Partially, they read as follows:

799. Prosecution for an offense punishable by death or by

imprisonment in the state prison for life or for life without the

possibility of parole, or for the embezzlement of public money, may

be commenced at any time.

This section shall apply in any case in which the defendant was a

minor at the time of the commission of the offense and the

prosecuting attorney could have petitioned the court for a fitness

hearing pursuant to Section 707 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

800. Except as provided in Section 799, prosecution for an offense

punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for eight years or

more shall be commenced within six years after commission of the

offense.

801. Except as provided in Sections 799 and 800, prosecution for an

offense punishable by imprisonment in the state prison shall be

commenced within three years after commission of the offense.

801.5. Notwithstanding Section 801 or any other provision of law,

prosecution for any offense described in subdivision (c) of Section

803 shall be commenced within four years after discovery of the

commission of the offense, or within four years after the completion

of the offense, whichever is later.

801.6. Notwithstanding any other limitation of time described in

this chapter, prosecution for any offense proscribed by Section 368,

except for a violation of any provision of law proscribing theft or

embezzlement, may be filed at any time within five years from the

date of occurrence of such offense.

In certain situations, there are cases (such as People v. Serna) that also control the statutes of limitations. Thanks, and I hope this helps.

Re: STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS - comprehensive listing

I intend to only supplement the other attorney's comprehensive reply.

If the party secrets (hides) outside the state of California this may stay the statute.

When the offense is both a State and Federal criminal act. And if the State statute runs, that doesn't stop the Federal prosecution if the Federal statute hasn't run. Bank robbery, since banks are federally insured, is an example of a crime that may be prosecuted by either the State or Federal authorities. Although normally not both. The bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City is another example of the possibility of being prosecuted twice for the same criminal act.