Sec. 54-193. Limitation of prosecution for certain offenses. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 54-193. Limitation of prosecution for certain offenses. (a) There shall be no limitation of time within which a person may be prosecuted for a capital felony, a class A felony or a violation of section 53a-54d or 53a-169.

      (b) No person may be prosecuted for any offense, except a capital felony, a class A felony or a violation of section 53a-54d or 53a-169, for which the punishment is or may be imprisonment in excess of one year, except within five years next after the offense has been committed. No person may be prosecuted for any other offense, except a capital felony, a class A felony or a violation of section 53a-54d or 53a-169, except within one year next after the offense has been committed.

      (c) If the person against whom an indictment, information or complaint for any of said offenses is brought has fled from and resided out of this state during the period so limited, it may be brought against such person at any time within such period, during which such person resides in this state, after the commission of the offense.

      (d) When any suit, indictment, information or complaint for any crime may be brought within any other time than is limited by this section, it shall be brought within such time.

      (1949 Rev., S. 8871; P.A. 76-35, S. 1, 2; P.A. 77-604, S. 40, 84; P.A. 80-313, S. 53; P.A. 86-197; P.A. 00-87, S. 1, 2.)

      History: P.A. 76-35 replaced reference to crimes and misdemeanors, treason, etc. with general reference to offenses, adding exceptions re capital felonies and class A felonies, deleted specific reference to imprisonment in Somers facility, substituting applicability based on imprisonment for more than one year, and specified that there is no limitation for prosecution of capital and class A felonies; P.A. 77-604 made no change; P.A. 80-313 reordered and rephrased provisions, dividing section into Subsecs; P.A. 86-197 provided that there shall be no time limitation on the prosecution of a person for a violation of Sec. 53a-54d; P.A. 00-87 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to provide that there shall be no time limitation on the prosecution of a person for a violation of Sec. 53a-169 and made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality in Subsec. (c), effective May 26, 2000, and applicable to any offense committed prior to, on or after said date.

      Qui tam information amendable, notwithstanding no new information for same cause could be brought. 10 C. 472. Grand juror's complaint and information of state's attorney part of same proceeding and prevents running of the statute. 49 C. 437. Statute does not run as to conspiracy until last overt act is committed. 126 C. 85. See note to chapter 926. Cited. 150 C. 229. Cited. 163 C. 230. Prosecution within one year for first offender. Id., 234. Public act 76-35 which amended statute to remove the five-year limitation on prosecutions for capital or class A felonies was not applied retroactively to crimes committed while five-year limitation was in effect in absence of language clearly necessitating such construction. 189 C. 346. Cited. 197 C. 436; Id., 507. Protection afforded by statute may be waived; treated as an affirmative defense, not as jurisdictional. 199 C. 631. Prosecution for violation of Sec. 53a-54(a)(1) not barred by this section. 201 C. 435. Cited. 204 C. 98. Cited. 213 C. 388. Cited. 235 C. 145. Cited. 242 C. 409. Amendment to statute of limitations applies retroactively to crimes committed before its effective date but for which the preamendment limitation period had not yet expired. 276 C. 633.

      Cited. 28 CA 91. Cited. 34 CA 473. Cited. 41 CA 476.

      It is not necessary in criminal prosecution to prove the precise day the acts were committed. 4 CS 259. Cited. 6 CS 349; 24 CS 312. After a nolle prosequi has been entered, the statute of limitations continues to run and a prosecution may be resumed only on a new information and a new arrest. 32 CS 504. Cited. 35 CS 565. Issuance of arrest warrant starts prosecution and tolls statute of limitations. 38 CS 377. The prosecution of the defendant began with his arrest. Once prosecution has commenced within time period allowed by appropriate statute of limitations the prosecutor has broad discretion as to what crimes to charge in any particular situation. 39 CS 347.

      Subsec. (b):

      Cited. 202 C. 86; Id., 93. Issuance of arrest warrant is sufficient initiation of a prosecution to toll the statute of limitations if warrant served with due diligence. Id., 443. Cited. 209 C. 52. Cited. 211 C. 441. Cited. 228 C. 393. Cited. 233 C. 403. Although the case against defendant under Sec. 20-427 was initially dismissed based on statute of limitations, state's successful appeal on the statute of limitations calculation and subsequent trial did not constitute unlawful double jeopardy. 250 C. 1.

      Cited. 15 CA 222. Cited. 21 CA 449. Cited. 26 CA 674. Cited. 42 CA 790. Pursuant to subsection, charged violations of Sec. 14-227a were subject to a one-year limitations period because they were not punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year. 61 CA 90. Trial court did not improperly deny defendant's motion to dismiss counts of information on grounds that statute of limitations precluded prosecution of counts where court found no evidence that defendant raised statute of limitations as an affirmative defense at trial. Id.

      Subsec. (c):

      Cited. 202 C. 443. Cited. 233 C. 403.

      Cited. 35 CA 754.