Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Most of the time, there is little that can be done, and it is possible that little can be done here. However, you may still be able to raise a statute of limitations claim even at this late date. You are correct that it is 5 years for theft. Couple things though that may affect that. You had to be a resident of this state or located in this state for those 5 years. Also, if it was a "continuing theft", for example, the theft started in January of 2000 and small thefts were made over the next 2-3 years, then the statute of limitations doesn't start until that last criminal action. If these situations don't apply to you, then I strongly suggest you contact an attorney located near you or the county of the offense to see if a post-conviction motion can be filed.

There is case law that states that "statutes of limitation on crimes are not jurisdictional and the defendant may waive the statute of limitations defense." This means that the fact that the statute of limitations may have expired does not mean that the case had to be dismissed. There is also case law that states that a "defendant who failed to present or preserve any issue below with respect to the statute of limitations could not now assert the applicability of the statute of limitations for the crime for which he pleaded no contest." This means that unless you raised the issue at the time of your plea (filed a motion to dismiss that was denied) you can not raise it on appeal.

You didn't mention in your post whether you had an attorney at the time of your plea and whether your attorney told you about the statute of limitations issues. If you did have an attorney and they did not advise you regarding the statute of limitations, your only remedy at this time may be to file a Motion to Vacate your sentence based on ineffective assistance of counsel.