I was arrested for theft over three years ago. This is a civil matter and the people accusing me actually owe me money. ($484,000) The DA will not bring it to trial. My attorney told me to lay low and the Statue of Limitations would run out in December. That was 7 months or so ago. So, here we are in January and still no trial. When I talked to my attorney today, he said he didn't say that and that it would definitely go to trial. He said the Statue of Limitations did not apply in my case. What is going on here? The original charge was theft by deception. Arrest date was December 2008. This attorney told me that he had asked for a speedy trial and filed the paperwork early in this process, first six months.

There may be some civil components to the disagreement between you and some other party over property, but the state is prosecuting at least some aspects as a criminal matter. In a civil matter, the other party to the dispute would be suing you directly.


Has the DA told you this? Were you ever arraigned (formally charged)?


Ok, follow you there. Yes, there should only be a 3 year SOL from the time the crime is "complete" until the state must bring their charge, UNLESS it was tolled for some reason (put on hold due to things like you being out of the state).


There are several reasons this might be, the most common being that the crime is/was still occurring over a period of time, as opposed to a single act of theft that occurred at one moment - most often seen with fraudulent rental or other longer term endeavors. Without knowing the specifics of the crime, which you should NOT post on the internet, we can't really provide much guidance. If your attorney is telling you that the SOL is still alive for your case, that's who I'd be listening to. Ask them to explain on what grounds is the SOL not applicable.

Yes, this does appear to be subject to the 3 year limitation.


Do you know what response, if any, was received from the court regarding the speedy trial request?

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Once you are charged with the crime, the statute of limitations is tolled. As for whether or not you have been afforded a speedy trial that is different in each state and is a question for an attorney that practices in your state. Continuances by a defendant can waive the right to a speedy trial. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.