If you are charged with criminal conduct, you probably have some questions about what is going on, particularly regarding the legal process and the road to trial. One thing you should know about in that process is the statute of limitations. When you are charged with a crime, the prosecutor must press charges within a certain time period. They cannot sit around forever while you sweat about the outcome of your situation.
For theft crimes, the exact statutory period within which you must have charges levied against you will depend on what level of crime you are charged with. Charges for indictable offenses must be brought within five years, while charges for disorderly persons offenses must be brought within a year. You will need legal counsel to look at your particular case to help figure out whether the statutory period has run out for you or not.
Call the Law Offices of John J. Zarych’s Atlantic City theft defense lawyers at (609) 616-4956 to have us look at your claim.
What are the Criminal Statutes of Limitation in New Jersey for Theft?
Statutes of limitation are laws that limit the time prosecutors have to file charges against someone. The most serious crimes, like murder or rape, will not have time periods for how long charges can be brought. Less severe crimes, though, like theft, need to have the prosecution file charges in a timely manner.
The specific statute of limitations for criminal conduct in New Jersey will depend on the conduct in question. New Jersey categorizes infractions as either disorderly persons offenses – which are technically not crimes, or indictable offenses, which are misdemeanors or felonies in other states’ legal codes.
Statues of Limitations for Theft as a Disorderly Persons Offense
For petty disorderly persons offenses and disorderly persons offenses, prosecutors must bring charges within one year pursuant to N.J.S.A. § 2C:1-6(b)(2). While theft offenses can all end up being disorderly persons offenses or indictable offenses depending on the conduct in question, some infractions are more likely to be disorderly persons offenses.
Shoplifting
Shoplifting is stealing retail goods or cash from stores and is criminalized under N.J.S.A. § 2C:20-11(b). While shoplifting is likely to be a disorderly persons offense, shoplifting things worth a lot of money can make it an indictable offense and extend the statute of limitations.
Theft By Unlawful Taking
Perhaps the most common theft crime in NJ is theft by unlawful taking, outlined in § 2C:20-3. The crime consists of taking or “exercising control over” property, intending to deprive the rightful owner of it. For example, stealing someone’s car to keep it as your own is theft, but borrowing your friend’s car for the weekend and then giving it back to them is not theft. Theft by unlawful taking is often a disorderly persons offense, but it can easily be an indictable offense if things of high value are stolen.
Theft by Deception
Theft by deception is criminalized under § 2C:20-4. It is a crime to take something from someone else through a “false impression” or prevent someone from getting information about something. For example, if you ask someone for money to donate to a charity, but you’re actually going to go and pocket whatever they give you, that is theft by deception.
Statute of Limitations for Theft as an Indictable Offense
Prosecutions for indictable offenses must be brought within five years pursuant to § 2C:1-6(b)(1). As with theft of things of higher value as well as more violent crimes usually end up being indictable offenses.
Robbery
Robbery is criminalized under § 2C:15-1. It involves using or threatening to use force or commit another crime when committing any kind of theft. For example, threatening to shoot someone if they do not fork over their wallet is robbery. Robbery is always a second-degree or first-degree crime, so the statute of limitations is always five years.
Burglary
New Jersey law criminalized burglary under § 2C:18-2. Burglary is when someone enters a private structure with the intent to commit a crime. By default, burglary is a third-degree crime, but if, during a burglary, the perpetrator threatens bodily injury, actually injures someone, or uses a deadly weapon, it is a second-degree crime.
Theft By Extortion
Theft by extortion is outlined in N.J.S.A. § 2C:20-5 and involves unlawfully taking things through the threat of something bad happening to the rightful owner. This could mean physically hurting them, exposing a secret they do not want to be public, or trying to harm the owner in another way. For example, going up to someone and saying, “Give me $10,000, or I will say you cheated on your spouse,” would be theft by extortion. Since $10,000 is a lot of money, this would be an indictable offense.
Why are There Statutes of Limitation for Theft in New Jersey?
There are two primary reasons why statutes of limitations exist. First, they ensure that the facts of a case are clear in the minds of prosecutors, victims, defendants, witnesses, and other parties. People’s recollections and memories of things change over time, so if too much time goes by before a matter goes to court, there is a very real chance that the actual facts of the case will be muddled by time. This can be extremely prejudicial to a defendant, as it could lead to an innocent person getting convicted just because someone misremembers a fact. Second, the law recognized that people have a right to go about their lives after a certain period of time without the specter of an impending lawsuit hanging over their heads. Of course, for the most serious crimes, that worry will be there forever, but for something like theft, the general way of things established by law is that if a prosecutor does not go after someone in a certain period of time, it is probably not worth it in the first place.
Get Help from Our New Jersey Theft Defense Lawyers Today
The Law Offices of John J. Zarych can be reached at (609) 616-4956 for free and confidential case reviews from our Cape May, NJ theft defense lawyers.
