Statutes of Limitation starts when the crime is discovered not when it happened ?

[travistee2]

What is the name of your state?NJ

This is a general question on statutes of limitation in NEW JERSEY.

This is what I found. Can anyone confirm or add or clarify any other details. Note that the second paragraphs is for California. I want to know if can take what I have for NJ as accurate. The two paragraphs are not from the same source. Some people think SOL starts when the crime was committed. That's not what I found.

Please do not comment unless you actually know facts about the law. I don't want random opinions.

Like with civil lawsuits, police officers and criminal prosecutors have a time limit in which to file charges for most types of criminal offenses. This time limit is called the statute of limitations. Under New Jersey law, criminal charges are filed and a prosecution is commenced for limitations purposes once an indictment is found by a grand jury or when a warrant or other process is issued for a non-indictable offense.


It is important to note that the statutory period for bringing a case does not begin until the offense is discovered, or should have been discovered. As well, statutes of limitations change from state to state, and what is true for California may not be true for another state.

 

[Zigner]

Not that it needs to be said, but...

Post Hx

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state?NJ

This is a general question on statutes of limitation in NEW JERSEY.

This is what I found. Can anyone confirm or add or clarify any other details. Note that the second paragraphs is for California. I want to know if can take what I have for NJ as accurate. The two paragraphs are not from the same source. Some people think SOL starts when the crime was committed. That's not what I found.

Please do not comment unless you actually know facts about the law. I don't want random opinions.

Like with civil lawsuits, police officers and criminal prosecutors have a time limit in which to file charges for most types of criminal offenses. This time limit is called the statute of limitations. Under New Jersey law, criminal charges are filed and a prosecution is commenced for limitations purposes once an indictment is found by a grand jury or when a warrant or other process is issued for a non-indictable offense.


It is important to note that the statutory period for bringing a case does not begin until the offense is discovered, or should have been discovered. As well, statutes of limitations change from state to state, and what is true for California may not be true for another state.

Neither are really correct.

For example, the second bolded portion refers to “the discovery rule” and applies only when a certain set of facts are present.

And there is a difference between civil and criminal actions.

Here is a link to New Jersey statutes of limitations (2012), from the National Legal Research Group:

https://www.nlrg.com/hs-fs/hub/79400/file-15662842-pdf/docs/nj_statutes_of_limitations.pdf/documents_attorney_writing_samples/nj_statutes_of_limitations.pdf


If you want to report a doctor to the medical board or to the attorney general, you can do so at any time, without a time limit to worry about. The limitations periods are for legal actions that you intend to take (i.e., the time within which you must file a civil suit).

You have stated before (in your other now-locked threads) that you have no interest in pursuing a legal action.

A reminder: Anyone on this forum is permitted to respond to this thread. You cannot control who responds and you cannot control the contents of their posts. Please be pleasant to all volunteers on this site. If you do not like a response, I suggest you ignore it.

 

[travistee2]

I think of SOL for criminal cases. As in your link only crimes are listed. For civil I think of it as a simple time limit. I was not thinking of civil legal action.

I am trying to understand the laws so when I continue my conversation with the AG office I will know if I report a crime it will not be beyond the SOL.
None of the replies mentioned this about SOL when I asked about it in that other thread. I thought SOL begins when the police find out about it.

(In this thread I hope to avoid going off topic telling me about how many doctors they have in their family, and I'm maligning doctors.
ok this sentence is off topic but if anyone else replies try to stay on topic).

The plan is to report misrepresentations in her advertising that alone my not have been significant ( or maybe it is). That will influence her credibility.
When I report an actual crime after establishing those issues it will be taken seriously and the AG can determine her credibility even if it was a long time ago.

I have started email conversation with the AG and they gave me good information.
I don't want to report a crime until I know that I have my facts correct.

I'm not really trying to get her arrested or lose her license. I'm trying to establish my negotiation position.
Is that illegal?

 

[quincy]

The link provides statutes of limitations for both civil and criminal actions.

If you report the psychiatrist to the medical board or to the police, their investigations will determine if any action can be taken against the psychiatrist or if the applicable statute of limitations prevents action. Certainly action can be taken against a medical license.

 

[stealth2]

I'm trying to establish my negotiation position.

What are you attempting to negotiate?

 

[Taxing Matters]

Some people think SOL starts when the crime was committed. That's not what I found.

I have no idea what sources you checked, but it is indeed the general rule for most crimes that the SOL begins to run the date that the crime is committed. It is no different in NJ. Like many states, NJ has a few crimes like murder for which there is no SOL. It also has a few crimes that when committed against a minor (person under age 18) the SOL will start to run when the victim turns age 18. With those two main exceptions out of the way, the general criminal statutes of limitation in NJ are actually pretty simple. NJ Statute section 2C:1-6(b) states the general limitation for most crimes, which is:

b. Except as otherwise provided in this section, prosecutions for other offenses are subject to the following periods of limitations:​

​

(1) A prosecution for a crime must be commenced within five years after it is committed;​

​

(2) A prosecution for a disorderly persons offense or petty disorderly persons offense must be commenced within one year after it is committed;​

(Bolding added.) Thus in NJ most crimes are subject to a five year statute of limitations other than disorderly persons offense, which have a SOL of one year. And note what I highlighted in bold: the SOL starts to run when the offense is committed. Thus, that is the answer to your question. No random opinions. It comes straight from the NJ statutes.

The discovery rule that you read about for California applies only to civil lawsuits, not criminal prosecution, and a number of states have a discovery rule. Those rules are, however, more complex and limited than what you quoted. Even in California, for most crimes the SOL for criminal prosecution starts to run the day the offense is committed.

 

[quincy]

There is a 6 year statute of limitations for consumer fraud and false claims; a 2 year statute of limitations for professional misconduct/medical malpractice from date of injury or from date of knowledge of injury.

For background information:

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/psychiatrist-was-never-in-a-residence-and-lies-on-her-web-listings.661325/

Another related thread was deleted by travistee2.

Here is a repeat from the other thread of a link to a New Jersey Supreme Court case, “What causes of action will lie when a plaintiff contends that a physician misrepresented his credentials and experience:”

https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59147b1dadd7b04934417042

 

[stealth2]

Another related thread was deleted by travistee2.

Shocking.

 

[quincy]

Shocking.

Apparently travistee thought we went off-topic.

 

[stealth2]

Apparently travistee thought we went off-topic.

So it became a travesty of itself?

 

[zddoodah]

Can anyone confirm or add or clarify any other details.

The first paragraph that you put in bold italics appears to come from the website of a New Jersey attorney who handles criminal cases. I have no basis to quarrel with anything in that paragraph.

The second paragraph, on the other hand, comes from an article titled "California Criminal Statute of Limitations Laws" that was published at a legal help website. The article is attributed to "[name of website] Staff" and states that it was reviewed by "[name], JD," but that person is not a lawyer admitted in California. I'm not sure why you quoted this in a post that is expressly focused on New Jersey law (although I do agree with the statement about the laws being different in every state).

I am trying to understand the laws so when I continue my conversation with the AG office I will know if I report a crime it will not be beyond the SOL.

Conversation with the AG about what? Also note that the AG rarely handles criminal prosecutions. Those are typically handled by local police and district attorneys.

I'm not really trying to get her arrested or lose her license. I'm trying to establish my negotiation position.
Is that illegal?

If you don't want this person to be arrested or to lose her license, what is the point of contacting the AG or any law enforcement officer? If you're thinking of threatening criminal prosecution to gain leverage in a financial negotiation, that could be extortion or blackmail, so I'd suggest not doing anything of the sort without first obtaining advice of counsel.

 

[quincy]

travistee2 disputes the legitimacy of a psychiatrist’s advertised credentials. He has been advised more than once to file complaints with the Attorney General and with the medical board.

It could be important for travistee2 to know that HE will not be telling anyone what laws might have been violated or what crimes might have been committed. Whatever he finds on the internet will play no role in the investigators investigations.

 

[Taxing Matters]

There is a 6 year statute of limitations for consumer fraud and false claims; a 2 year statute of limitations for professional misconduct/medical malpractice from date of injury or from date of knowledge of injury.

Again, to be clear, those are CIVIL statutes of limitation, not criminal.

 

[quincy]

Again, to be clear, those are CIVIL statutes of limitation, not criminal.

Understood.

The link I previously provided includes both.