The Statute Could Be Limited Depending on Crime Severity
Video Transcribed: This is Stuart Ericson, an Oklahoma lawyer, and today we’re going to talk about the statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations is basically, in layman’s terms, how long the state of Oklahoma has to file criminal charges against a person based on when the crime was committed.
So basically, again, it’s time to file a criminal case. And that’s found in Title 22, sections 151 through 153 of Oklahoma law.
So for example, murder is the biggest crime that there is, essentially. There is no statute of limitations for the offense of murder. If a murder happened today and no suspects were developed, and 25 years from now a suspect is found through DNA or some other reason, the state can file murder charges even 25 years later. Because there is no statute of limitations because that crime is one of the most heinous crimes that there is.
Of course, that’s why there are cold cases because there’s no statute of limitations. Those cases can continue to be worked on. So again, for murder, there is no statute of limitations unlimited.
For the manslaughter cases, that’s within 10 years after the discovery of the crime. So when the crime is reported, there is a 10-year statute of limitations. So if they develop a suspect in a manslaughter case 15 years after it’s been reported, after the fact, no prosecution can be brought. There is a statute of limitations, and that is how it works.
The rest of the statute of limitations is found in Title 22, Section 152. And it lists, there are several exceptions. But generally for felonies, the statute of limitations is three years after the crime. So the state of Oklahoma has three years to bring charges, to file charges against a person.
Now, there are numerous exceptions to some fraud cases, as rape and sex crime cases are generally within 12 years after the discovery of the crime. So again, each crime can be different. Generally, it’s three years, murder unlimited. But there are exceptions, you just need to look at the statutes to see when the statute of limitations is. Because obviously, if something is filed outside of that statute of limitations, that case will have to be dismissed.
So any more questions about that you can reach out to me, a Wagoner defense attorney, at stuartericson@wagnerlawyer.com.
