ruggedcanyon2 said:Can someone tell me how many years it takes for a misdemeanor to expire under the statute of limitations? And does that expiration only apply if a first-instance judgment hasn't been handed down yet, or does it still count after that? Basically, say you get convicted at a lower court, you appeal, and then nothing happens. How long until it's wiped out, or is it impossible because a first-instance ruling already exists?
Since this involves the Sports Fan Act, the cops are the ones who actually know the drill, so I figured I’d better ask here instead. 😁
If we're talking about the Sports Fan Act, the statute of limitations during proceedings lasts 4 years for misdemeanor cases.
But here's the catch: they shoved this loophole into the law where they use "offender records." When the police go to the courts asking for bans—you know, those bans that just strip you of your rights based on whatever the cops claim—they use data that's up to 10 years old. Even though, by standard legal rules, the rehabilitation period should be twice as long as the actual penalty, they don't care if you were actually prosecuted or even legally convicted. They just look at the record.
In plain English, they are effectively violating the Constitution here. People are getting banned for things they already served time for (which violates the principle of double jeopardy) or for things they weren't even convicted of in the first place—cases where they were actually cleared (and the Constitution says everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a final judgment).
The cops pull these ban requests based on these "famous" records, and more often than not, they include made-up info or fake offenses in their requests. Judges don't even bother checking the facts; they just take the word of the officers and hand out the penalties or new bans based on hearsay.
Feel free to copy and paste that above.