Q: Can statute limitations start from arrest date not incident?
I was in a car accident in Texas in December 2022 while intoxicated and was hospitalized for two weeks. I dislocated my hip, used a cane, and attended physical therapy. I turned myself in in August 2023, but the authorities claim the statute of limitations starts from August 2023, not from the accident date, December 2022. I am facing potential charges for carrying while intoxicated and DWI, but each month since approximately January 2024, the court date has been postponed. I've had brief discussions with legal counsel and was advised that the case should be dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Can the authorities legally set the statute of limitations from the date I turned myself in rather than the accident date?
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A: The question I have is when did they file the criminal information for the DWI and the carrying a weapon cases? The statue of limitations on a Misdemeanor in Texas is two years. So they had two years from December 2022 to file charges. So hypothetically, if charges were not filed until January of 2024, then they were filed one month beyond the statute of limitations. Check the date when the information was filed. The "information" is the charging instrument in a misdemeanor case.
A:
No, they cannot. But the statute of limitations only governs how long from when the even happened must the formal charges be filed. As long as the formal charges are filed within the prescribed time period, the statute of limitations is met. Typically, the formal charges can be amended even after the statute of limitations has passed as long as the amendment arises from the same operative nucleus of facts. So the State can probably add a weapons charge if it arises from the DUI car accident that happened in December 2022. But the State could not add a theft charge that happened three days before the car accident.
The State is not required to go to trial within the time period prescribed by the statute of limitations. Once charges are filed, a different legal concept comes into play--the right to a speedy trial. As long as you don't ask that your case be passed or agree to the State's request to pass your case, you could move to dismiss your case for violating your right to a speedy trial.
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