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| Criminal Statute of Limitations (Minn. Stat. § 628.26) | |
| Any crime resulting in the death of the victim | No statute of limitation |
| Kidnapping | No statute of limitation |
| Labor trafficking if the victim was under the age of 18 | No statute of limitation |
| Sex offense (first, second, or third degree) if physical evidence is collected and preserved that is capable of being tested for its DNA characteristics | No statute of limitation |
| Sex offense (first, second, third, or fourth degree) against a victim under 18 years of age if DNA evidence is not collected and preserved that is capable of being tested for its DNA characteristics | The later of nine years after commission of offense or three years after the offense was reported to law enforcement |
| Sex offense (first, second, or third degree) against a victim 18 years old or older if DNA evidence is not collected and preserved that is capable of being tested for its DNA characteristics | Nine years after commission of offense |
| Labor trafficking if the victim was 18 years or older | Six years after commission of offense |
| Bribery of or by a public official | Six years after commission of offense |
| Medical Assistance fraud or theft | Six years after commission of offense |
| Certain thefts, check forgeries, credit card frauds, and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults (where value of property or services stolen exceeds $35,000) | Five years after commission of offense |
| Hazardous and infectious waste crimes, except violations relating to false material statements, representations, or omissions | Five years after commission of offense |
| Arson in the first, second, or third degree | Five years after commission of offense |
| All other crimes | Three years after commission of offense |
| Section 628.26 has been amended numerous times over the years. The different amendments to the law have different enactment clauses that vary the application of the statute. For example, in 2009, there were two amendments to this section. The amendment to paragraph (e) is effective August 1, 2009, and applies to crimes committed on or after that date, as well as to crimes committed before that date if the limitations period did not expire before August 1, 2009. See Laws 2009, ch. 59, art. 5, § 20. The amendment to paragraph (h) is effective August 1, 2009, and applies only to crimes committed on or after that date. See Laws 2009, ch. 119, § 18. | |
The running of all of these statutes of limitations is suspended (i.e., tolled) during the following:
- any period of time during which the defendant did not usually reside within Minnesota
- any period during which the defendant participated in a pretrial diversion program relating to the offense
- any period during which physical evidence relating to the offense was undergoing DNA analysis, unless the defendant demonstrates that the prosecuting or law enforcement agency purposefully delayed the DNA analysis procedure in order to gain an unfair advantage15
This and any related posts have been adopted from the Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department’s Information Brief, Criminal Statutes of Limitations, written by legislative analyst Rebecca Pirius.
This post is part of a series of posts on Criminal Statutes of Limitations in Minnesota.
15 Minn. Stat. § 628.26.
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