What is the Statute of Limitations for Theft in Maryland?

Like in all states, theft is a crime in Maryland. Depending on what was stolen or how valuable the money or thing stolen was, there can be serious criminal penalties attached to a conviction for theft. This could be anything from a misdemeanor to a serious felony. What you may not know is that there is a certain time limit within which the prosecution must bring a case before the court in order to convict someone of a crime. This is called a “statute of limitations.”

Theft covers a wide variety of conduct and can have a wide variety of penalties. Accordingly, while the general statute of limitations for many things in Maryland is three years for serious crimes, theft will have different statutes of limitations depending on the circumstances of that particular alleged crime. Most theft crimes need to be prosecuted within two years. However, there are reasons that the statute of limitations could be longer or shorter.

For a free, confidential case review, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s Maryland criminal defense lawyers at (410) 694-7291.

The Statute of Limitations for Theft in Maryland

In Maryland, the statute of limitations for theft is generally two years from the time the crime takes place per Md. Code, Crim. Art., § 7-104. However, there are circumstances that can extend or reduce the statute of limitations for a particular theft crime. When you meet with our Bel Air criminal defense lawyers, we can go over the specific facts of your case to determine what that statute of limitations is for you.

“Penitentiary” Misdemeanors

A unique quirk of Maryland law is something called a “penitentiary misdemeanor.” These are misdemeanors, or lesser crimes, but they have the possibility of being sent to a state prison as a penalty. Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. Art., § 5-106 states that a prosecution for a penitentiary misdemeanor can be brought at any time. However, the case of State v. Massey made it so that so-called penitentiary misdemeanors are prosecuted just like other theft crimes are not particularly special.

Older criminal laws in Maryland will list to which prison a convicted person would go to. Hence, there are laws referencing “penitentiary misdemeanors” because a convicted person would go to the penitentiary. However, modern Maryland law does not demarcate crimes by where convicted people go to serve their sentence. The Massey court made it so that certain crimes cannot be prosecuted for an unlimited length of time based on archaic wording of certain laws.

Misdemeanors

Misdemeanors in Maryland must be prosecuted within one year of the alleged crime per Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. Art., § 5-106(a). Theft is a misdemeanor when it is of things that are of a value greater than $100 but less than 1,500 per Md. Code, Crim. Art., § 7-104.

Felonies

Theft crimes that are felonies are significantly more serious in Maryland. Accordingly, the statute of limitations within which a crime must be prosecuted is longer. Theft is a felony in Maryland when the value of things stolen is greater than $1,500 per Md. Code, Crim Art., § 7-104(g). There are varying greater severities of felonies for amounts that are at least $25,000 and less than $100,000, as well as thefts of things with a value of $100,000 or greater.

The statute of limitations for theft that rises to the level of a felony in Maryland is generally three years, but depending on the severity of the felony, there may be no statute of limitations, and the case can be brought at any time.

What is a Statute of Limitations?

Statutes of limitations are laws that put a timer on how long people have to file lawsuits. Statutes of limitations for crimes are generally longer than those for civil wrongdoings, but the overall idea is the same. If you do not file a lawsuit with the court in time, your case will be thrown out, and the court will not hear it.

Statutes of limitations exist for slightly different reasons in the criminal law sphere than in civil law. In the civil sphere, statutes of limitations exist primarily to make sure that cases are brought while the facts are fresh in the minds of everyone involved and so that belligerents in a lawsuit can move on without the specter of a lawsuit hanging over their heads after a certain period of time.

In criminal law, on the other hand, statutes of limitations exist in part to make sure that prosecutors do their job in a timely fashion. They prevent prosecutors from dragging their feet or waiting until the best possible opportunity to get a conviction. Second, they help to make sure that defendants are given their right to a speedy trial as guaranteed in the United States Constitution.

Can the Statue of Limitations be Extended?

In some cases, the statute of limitations can be “tolled.” This means that the timer is stopped, and the period within which prosecutors can file a lawsuit will be extended.

There are several circumstances that could cause the statute of limitations to toll in a criminal matter. First, if the defendant is not in the state of Maryland, the statutory period is put on hold until they return to the state. This prevents people from committing a crime in Maryland and then fleeing to another state to wait out the timer, only to return when prosecutors can no longer bring a criminal case against them. Alternatively, statutory periods can be extended if it is found that the theft is part of a great conspiracy of crime. In those cases, the timer does not start until the conspiracy ends.

Call Our Maryland Theft Defense Lawyers Today

Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s Baltimore theft defense lawyers can give free case reviews when you call (410) 694-7291.