I have recently received numerous questions about statutes of limitation in criminal cases. A statute of limitation is a law which places a time limit on pursuing a criminal conviction. After the expiration of the statutory period, unless a legal exception applies, the state loses the right to bring charges against someone.

For a misdemeanor offense, Alabama Code Section 15-3-2 dictates that prosecution must commence within 12 months of the offense. In other words, the state cannot properly bring charges against you one year and a day after the alleged criminal conduct.

Under Alabama Code Section 15-3-1, generally, all felony offenses must be commenced within three years of the offense. Just like misdemeanors, the state has that amount of time to formally charge the potential defendant. As in misdemeanors, this does not mean a trial must be held within the specified time frame.

There are exceptions to the general three-year limit for felony offenses. Most of these exceptions are listed in Section 15-3-5 and include more serious felony offenses. The main exception to the three-year rule involves capital offenses. Under Section 15-3-5, there is no limitation of time for prosecution of a capital offense.

Capital offenses include murder committed during the following: first degree kidnapping or robbery; rape/sodomy first or second degree; burglary first or second degree; murder of a law enforcement official; murder for economic gain or pursuant to a contract or for hire; sexual abuse first or second degree, arson first or second degree; where two or more people are murdered by the defendant by one act; hijacking a commercial airliner; by a defendant who has been convicted of any other murder within 20 years; murder of a victim or someone testifying in a criminal trial; when the victim is younger than 14; committed through the use of a deadly weapon fired from outside a house while the victim is in a house, or through the use of a deadly weapon while the victim is in a vehicle or the weapon is fired from a vehicle.

The state may also prosecute the following crimes at any time after their commission: any felony involving the use, attempted use, or threat of violence to a person; any felony involving serious physical injury or death of a person; any sex offense involving a victim under 16; any felony involving arson; any felony involving forgery; any felony involving counterfeiting; and any felony involving drug trafficking.