Statute of Limitations for Non-Violent Crimes
The statute of limitations is a restriction on how long after the commission of a crime prosecutors have to charge an individual with that crime. Statutes of limitations vary depending on the crime committed.
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The Federal Five-Year Rule
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Federal statutes of limitations only apply to federal crimes. Typically, the federal statute of limitations is five years from the commission of the crime, whether the crime involved was violent or non-violent.
The five-year rule may be suspended or extended for some non-violent crimes, including the concealment of assets in bankruptcy and wartime fraud.
Federal Limitations on Other Non-Violent Crimes
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Some non-violent federal crimes do not follow the five-year rule but have specific statutes of limitations. The statute of limitations is 20 years for art theft, 10 years for immigration offenses and for some specific crimes against financial institutions, and eight years for non-violent terrorism offenses.
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State Statutes of Limitations
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Statutes of limitations for non-violent crimes vary from state to state, with four states having no statutes of limitations for any crimes. Many states have no statutes of limitations for violent crimes, but have statutes of limitations of as little as one year for petty crimes or two for misdemeanors, as is the case in New York.
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References
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