Tooby's California Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

When a defendant mounts a successful collateral attack against a conviction, and charges are reinstated, the statute of limitations defense applies where applicable to require dismissal of charges that are now time-barred.[13]  State courts can be urged to adopt the same rule, for the same reasons.  Note that this does not bar any charges that were originally filed prior to the time the operative statute of limitations ran.  It only operates to restrict the prosecution’s ability to file new charges, after the original conviction has been vacated, and after the running of the applicable statute of limitations.  It thus operates as a limit on the prosecution’s ability to threaten greater charges than had originally been filed before the original disposition occurred.

[13] United States v. Midgley, 142 F.3d 174 (3d Cir. 1998); United States v. Podde, 105 F.3d 813 (2d Cir. 1997), vacating United States v. Reguer, 901 F.Supp. 525 (E.D.N.Y. 1995).