Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

If one wants to sue the police and city attorney when does the statute of limitations start - post or pre trial?

I can only sue if I'm aquitted and I plan on this but I'm scared that the police are stalling it for statute of limitation reasons.


Asked on 9/11/09, 1:33 pm

2 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

I'm not sure Mr. Linehan understood your question correctly. The statute of limitations for the crime of which you are charged began to run at the time the alleged crime occurred (or, under some circumstances, as soon thereafter as it reasonably could have been detected). That has nothing to do with the timing of any civil suit you might bring. If you want to sue for malicious prosecution, your limitations period would begin when you are acquitted. (You would also be able to sue if the charges against you are dismissed, though offhand I'm not sure if the limitations period would begin at the time of dismissal.)

You must understand that being acquitted does not mean you have a viable lawsuit against the officials who prosecuted you. An acquittal only means that you were not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It does not mean that you are innocent. Moreover, even if you can prove that you are innocent, that still would not be enough. You would also have to prove that the officials had no good reason to believe you were guilty but prosecuted you anyway. That is a very high burden to meet.

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Answered on 9/12/09, 9:23 pm


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