Most crimes in California must be charged within a set time. Some have no time limit at all: Penal Code section 799 names the offenses whose prosecution may be commenced at any time. This is general information and not legal advice.

What Is the Statute of Limitations?

In a criminal case, the statute of limitations is the time within which a prosecution must be commenced. Under the Penal Code, prosecution must be commenced within one year for an offense that is not punishable by death, by imprisonment in the state prison, or under subdivision (h) of section 1170 (section 802, which has exceptions); within three years for an offense that is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or under that subdivision (section 801); and within six years for an offense punishable by imprisonment for eight years or more (section 800). Section 799 names the offenses with no time limit.

A civil claim for an injury has deadlines of its own, and they are different. See the statute of limitations in California for car accidents.

What Crimes In California Have No Statute Of Limitations?

Penal Code section 799 names them. The kinds below follow the code’s own words.

1. Crimes Punishable by Death or Life Imprisonment:

Prosecution for an offense punishable by death, or by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for life without the possibility of parole, may be commenced at any time (section 799, subdivision (a)). Beside murder, examples in the Penal Code are treason, punished by death or life imprisonment without possibility of parole (section 37); kidnapping for ransom, reward or extortion, punished by life in prison with or without the possibility of parole (section 209); wrecking a train, punished by death or life without possibility of parole where a person dies of it and by life with the possibility of parole where no one does (section 219); and torture, punished by a term of life (sections 206 and 206.1).

2. Murder Charges, and Why Manslaughter Is Different:

Murder has no time limit. First degree murder is punished by death, by life in prison without the possibility of parole, or by a term of 25 years to life, and second degree murder by a term of 15 years to life or more (section 190), so a charge of murder (section 187) may be brought at any time under section 799. Manslaughter is different. Voluntary manslaughter is punishable by 3, 6 or 11 years in the state prison, and involuntary manslaughter by two, three or four years (section 193). Neither is punishable by life, so a manslaughter charge has a time limit, set by sections 800 and 801. However old a case is, the state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (section 1096).

3. Capital Murder and Special Circumstances:

For first degree murder the penalty is death or life in prison without the possibility of parole when a special circumstance listed in section 190.2 is found. The section lists 22. Among them: the murder was intentional and carried out for financial gain; the defendant has been convicted of more than one murder in the same proceeding; the murder was committed to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest; the defendant intentionally killed the victim by means of lying in wait; the victim was intentionally killed because of race, color, religion, nationality or country of origin; the murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture; the defendant intentionally killed the victim by poison; the victim was a juror killed in retaliation for, or to prevent the performance of, official duties.

4. Embezzlement of Public Funds:

Section 799 names one offense by its kind and not by its punishment: prosecution for the embezzlement of public money may be commenced at any time (section 799, subdivision (a)).

5. Serious Sexual Offenses:

Prosecution for the felony sex offenses that section 799 names may be commenced at any time. The section lists them by paragraph: certain offenses of rape (section 261), of sodomy (section 286) and of oral copulation (section 287), certain violations of sections 264.1 and 289, and the offenses against children in the next part. The rule applies to crimes committed on or after January 1, 2017, and to crimes whose earlier time limit had not run out by that date (section 799, subdivision (b)). It does not turn on DNA evidence; the rule on DNA is a separate one, below.

6. Sex Crimes Against Minors:

Section 799 names two offenses against children: lewd or lascivious acts with a child (section 288: its subdivision (b), and its subdivision (a) where the act involved substantial sexual conduct) and continuous sexual abuse of a child (section 288.5). For crimes within the dates given above, prosecution may be commenced at any time. A second rule reaches further back: prosecution for a felony offense under section 261, 286, 287, 288, 288.5 or 289 that is alleged to have been committed when the victim was under 18 may be commenced any time before the victim’s 40th birthday. That rule applies to crimes committed on or after January 1, 2015, and to crimes whose earlier time limit had not run out by that date (section 801.1, subdivision (a)).

7. Additional Sex Offenses:

Where neither of those rules applies, prosecution for a felony sex offense described in subdivision (c) of section 290 must be commenced within 10 years after the offense (section 801.1, subdivision (b)). DNA evidence can open a further window, described below.

8. Human Trafficking and Kidnapping:

Some kidnapping and human trafficking offenses are punishable by life in prison, so they fall under section 799: kidnapping for ransom, reward or extortion (section 209, subdivision (a)); kidnapping to commit robbery or certain sex offenses (section 209, subdivision (b)); kidnapping during a carjacking (section 209.5); and human trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act when the offense involves force, fear, fraud, deceit, coercion, violence, duress, menace or threat of unlawful injury, which is punishable by fifteen years to life (section 236.1, subdivision (c)). The other human trafficking offenses in that section carry set terms of years, so they are not on this list.

The Role of DNA Evidence in Statutes of Limitations:

DNA testing can open a new window for charging certain sex offenses.

How DNA Evidence Extends Prosecution Timelines:

Whatever other time limit applies, a criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date on which the identity of the suspect is conclusively established by DNA testing, if two conditions are met. The crime must be one described in subdivision (c) of section 290. And the biological evidence must have been analyzed for DNA type in time (section 803, subdivision (g)).

Exceptions:

For an offense committed on or after January 1, 2001, the evidence must be analyzed for DNA type no later than two years from the date of the offense. For an offense committed before January 1, 2001, it must have been analyzed no later than January 1, 2004 (section 803, subdivision (g)).

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