SF 3345

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime prevention; authorizing criminal 
  1.3             complaints and indictments to initiate criminal 
  1.4             proceedings against an unnamed defendant when 
  1.5             scientific evidence exists to identify the defendant 
  1.6             with reasonable certitude; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.7             1998, section 628.26. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 628.26, is 
  1.10  amended to read: 
  1.11     628.26 [LIMITATIONS.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [TIME LIMITATIONS.] (a) Indictments or 
  1.13  complaints for murder may be found or made at any time after the 
  1.14  death of the person killed.  
  1.15     (b) Indictments or complaints for violation of section 
  1.16  609.42, subdivision 1, clause (1) or (2), shall be found or made 
  1.17  and filed in the proper court within six years after the 
  1.18  commission of the offense.  
  1.19     (c) Indictments or complaints for violation of sections 
  1.20  609.342 to 609.345 if the victim was under the age of 18 years 
  1.21  at the time the offense was committed, shall be found or made 
  1.22  and filed in the proper court within nine years after the 
  1.23  commission of the offense or, if the victim failed to report the 
  1.24  offense within this limitation period, within three years after 
  1.25  the offense was reported to law enforcement authorities. 
  1.26     (d) Indictments or complaints for violation of sections 
  2.1   609.342 to 609.344 if the victim was 18 years old or older at 
  2.2   the time the offense was committed, shall be found or made and 
  2.3   filed in the proper court within nine years after the commission 
  2.4   of the offense. 
  2.5      (e) Indictments or complaints for violation of sections 
  2.6   609.466 and 609.52, subdivision 2, clause (3)(c) shall be found 
  2.7   or made and filed in the proper court within six years after the 
  2.8   commission of the offense. 
  2.9      (f) Indictments or complaints for violation of section 
  2.10  609.52, subdivision 2, clause (3), items (a) and (b), (4), (15), 
  2.11  or (16), 609.631, or 609.821, where the value of the property or 
  2.12  services stolen is more than $35,000, shall be found or made and 
  2.13  filed in the proper court within five years after the commission 
  2.14  of the offense. 
  2.15     (g) Except for violations relating to false material 
  2.16  statements, representations or omissions, indictments or 
  2.17  complaints for violations of section 609.671 shall be found or 
  2.18  made and filed in the proper court within five years after the 
  2.19  commission of the offense.  
  2.20     (h) Indictments or complaints for violation of sections 
  2.21  609.561 to 609.563, shall be found or made and filed in the 
  2.22  proper court within five years after the commission of the 
  2.23  offense. 
  2.24     (i) In all other cases, indictments or complaints shall be 
  2.25  found or made and filed in the proper court within three years 
  2.26  after the commission of the offense. 
  2.27     (j) Subd. 2.  [TOLLING PROVISIONS.] (a) The limitations 
  2.28  periods contained in this section subdivision 1 shall exclude 
  2.29  any period of time during which the defendant was not an 
  2.30  inhabitant of or usually resident within this state. 
  2.31     (k) (b) The limitations periods contained in this section 
  2.32  subdivision 1 for an offense shall not include any period during 
  2.33  which the alleged offender participated under a written 
  2.34  agreement in a pretrial diversion program relating to that 
  2.35  offense. 
  2.36     (1) (c) The limitations periods contained in this section 
  3.1   subdivision 1 shall not include any period of time during which 
  3.2   physical evidence relating to the offense was undergoing DNA 
  3.3   analysis, as defined in section 299C.155, unless the defendant 
  3.4   demonstrates that the prosecuting or law enforcement agency 
  3.5   purposefully delayed the DNA analysis process in order to gain 
  3.6   an unfair advantage. 
  3.7      Subd. 3.  [INDICTMENT OR COMPLAINT AGAINST UNNAMED 
  3.8   DEFENDANT BASED UPON SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE.] Notwithstanding 
  3.9   section 628.12 or any other law to the contrary, an indictment 
  3.10  or complaint is sufficient to commence an action if the 
  3.11  defendant who is the subject of the indictment or complaint is 
  3.12  described with reasonable certainty and the indictment or 
  3.13  complaint is found or made and filed in the proper court within 
  3.14  the time period provided in subdivision 1.  The indictment or 
  3.15  complaint shall be deemed to describe the defendant with 
  3.16  reasonable certainty if it specifies the defendant as an unknown 
  3.17  person with a matching DNA profile, a matching fingerprint, or 
  3.18  some other type of matching characteristic based on scientific 
  3.19  evidence that identifies the defendant with a high degree of 
  3.20  certitude. 
  3.21     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.22     Section 1 is effective August 1, 2000, and applies to 
  3.23  crimes committed on or after that date and to crimes committed 
  3.24  before that date if the limitation period for the crime did not 
  3.25  expire before August 1, 2000.