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To amend section 2901.13 of the Revised Code to make | 1 |
the period of limitation for the criminal | 2 |
prosecution of a person for an offense directly | 3 |
related to misconduct in office of a public | 4 |
servant the same as the period of limitation for | 5 |
the criminal prosecution of that public servant | 6 |
for the offense involving the public servant's | 7 |
misconduct in office. | 8 |
Section 1. That section 2901.13 of the Revised Code be | 9 |
amended to read as follows: | 10 |
Sec. 2901.13. (A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2) | 11 |
or (3) of this section or as otherwise provided in this section, a | 12 |
prosecution shall be barred unless it is commenced within the | 13 |
following periods after an offense is committed: | 14 |
(a) For a felony, six years; | 15 |
(b) For a misdemeanor other than a minor misdemeanor, two | 16 |
years; | 17 |
(c) For a minor misdemeanor, six months. | 18 |
(2) There is no period of limitation for the prosecution of a | 19 |
violation of section 2903.01 or 2903.02 of the Revised Code. | 20 |
(3) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (B) to (H) of | 21 |
this section, a prosecution of any of the following offenses shall | 22 |
be barred unless it is commenced within twenty years after the | 23 |
offense is committed: | 24 |
(a) A violation of section 2903.03, 2903.04, 2905.01, | 25 |
2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.21, 2909.02, 2909.22, | 26 |
2909.23, 2909.24, 2909.26, 2909.27, 2909.28, 2909.29, 2911.01, | 27 |
2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, or 2917.02 of the Revised Code, a | 28 |
violation of section 2903.11 or 2903.12 of the Revised Code if the | 29 |
victim is a peace officer, a violation of section 2903.13 of the | 30 |
Revised Code that is a felony, or a violation of former section | 31 |
2907.12 of the Revised Code; | 32 |
(b) A conspiracy to commit, attempt to commit, or complicity | 33 |
in committing a violation set forth in division (A)(3)(a) of this | 34 |
section. | 35 |
(B) If the period of limitation provided in division (A)(1) | 36 |
or (3) of this section has expired, prosecution shall be commenced | 37 |
for an offense of which an element is fraud or breach of a | 38 |
fiduciary duty, within one year after discovery of the offense | 39 |
either by an aggrieved person, or by the aggrieved person's legal | 40 |
representative who is not a party to the offense. | 41 |
(C)(1) If the period of limitation provided in division | 42 |
(A)(1) or (3) of this section has expired, prosecution shall be | 43 |
commenced for the following offenses during the following | 44 |
specified periods of time: | 45 |
(a) For an offense involving misconduct in office by a public | 46 |
servant | 47 |
time while the accused remains a public servant, or within two | 48 |
years thereafter; | 49 |
(b) For an offense by a person who is not a public servant | 50 |
but whose offense is directly related to the misconduct in office | 51 |
of a public servant, at any time while that public servant remains | 52 |
a public servant, or within two years thereafter. | 53 |
(2) As used in this division: | 54 |
(a) An "offense is directly related to the misconduct in | 55 |
office of a public servant" includes, but is not limited to, a | 56 |
violation of section 101.71, 101.91, 121.61 or 2921.13, division | 57 |
(F) or (H) of section 102.03, division (A) of section 2921.02, | 58 |
division (A) or (B) of section 2921.43, or division (F) or (G) of | 59 |
section 3517.13 of the Revised Code, that is directly related to | 60 |
an offense involving misconduct in office of a public servant. | 61 |
(b) "Public servant" has the same meaning as in section | 62 |
2921.01 of the Revised Code. | 63 |
(D) An offense is committed when every element of the offense | 64 |
occurs. In the case of an offense of which an element is a | 65 |
continuing course of conduct, the period of limitation does not | 66 |
begin to run until such course of conduct or the accused's | 67 |
accountability for it terminates, whichever occurs first. | 68 |
(E) A prosecution is commenced on the date an indictment is | 69 |
returned or an information filed, or on the date a lawful arrest | 70 |
without a warrant is made, or on the date a warrant, summons, | 71 |
citation, or other process is issued, whichever occurs first. A | 72 |
prosecution is not commenced by the return of an indictment or the | 73 |
filing of an information unless reasonable diligence is exercised | 74 |
to issue and execute process on the same. A prosecution is not | 75 |
commenced upon issuance of a warrant, summons, citation, or other | 76 |
process, unless reasonable diligence is exercised to execute the | 77 |
same. | 78 |
(F) The period of limitation shall not run during any time | 79 |
when the corpus delicti remains undiscovered. | 80 |
(G) The period of limitation shall not run during any time | 81 |
when the accused purposely avoids prosecution. Proof that the | 82 |
accused departed this state or concealed the accused's identity or | 83 |
whereabouts is prima-facie evidence of the accused's purpose to | 84 |
avoid prosecution. | 85 |
(H) The period of limitation shall not run during any time a | 86 |
prosecution against the accused based on the same conduct is | 87 |
pending in this state, even though the indictment, information, or | 88 |
process | 89 |
proceedings | 90 |
set aside or reversed on appeal. | 91 |
(I) The period of limitation for a violation of any provision | 92 |
of Title XXIX of the Revised Code that involves a physical or | 93 |
mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that | 94 |
reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of a child under eighteen | 95 |
years of age or of a mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, | 96 |
or physically impaired child under twenty-one years of age shall | 97 |
not begin to run until either of the following occurs: | 98 |
(1) The victim of the offense reaches the age of majority. | 99 |
(2) A public children services agency, or a municipal or | 100 |
county peace officer that is not the parent or guardian of the | 101 |
child, in the county in which the child resides or in which the | 102 |
abuse or neglect is occurring or has occurred has been notified | 103 |
that abuse or neglect is known, suspected, or believed to have | 104 |
occurred. | 105 |
(J) As used in this section, "peace officer" has the same | 106 |
meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code. | 107 |
Section 2. That existing section 2901.13 of the Revised Code | 108 |
is hereby repealed. | 109 |
Section 3. In amending section 2901.13 of the Revised Code, | 110 |
it is the intent of the General Assembly to supersede the effect | 111 |
of the holding of the Ohio Supreme Court in State v. Climaco, | 112 |
Climaco, Seminatore, Lefkowitz & Garofoli Co., L.P.A. (1999), 85 | 113 |
Ohio St.3d 582, with respect to the running of the criminal | 114 |
statute of limitations for certain offenses having a direct | 115 |
relation to certain public servants, whether or not the discovery | 116 |
of the corpus delicti of those offenses occurs within or outside | 117 |
of the otherwise generally applicable period of limitation for | 118 |
criminal prosecution under section 2901.13 of the Revised Code. | 119 |