Yossarian Is Back, the Ultimate Catch-22: What to Do When the Statute of Limitations Has Run on Lesser Offenses

Authors

Chris L. Kleppin

First Page

229

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

This Comment examines how the courts in Florida have treated the issue of whether, and if so how, to give lesser-included-offense instructions when the statute of limitations has not run on the greater offense but has run on the lesser offenses. The remainder of this Part discusses the relevant aspects of statutes of limitations and lesser-included offenses respectively. Part II of this Comment is a chronological summary, from 1879 to 1980, of Florida cases in which the courts confronted the issue of the statute of limitations and lesser-included offenses. These cases dealt primarily with whether and how jury instructions should be given on statutorily-barred lesser offenses. Accordingly, Part II discusses the two different ways courts viewed the running of statutes of limitations, either as depriving courts of subject matter jurisdiction or as waivable affirmative defenses. Part III of this Comment discusses Florida cases from 1981, when waiver was first approved, to the present and Florida courts' evolving positions on some of the nuances inherent in waiver. Finally, the Comment will analyze "waiver" and conclude that waiver is patently unfair to both defendants, whose due process rights it violates, and society, because it drastically inhibits truth finding.

Recommended Citation

Chris L. Kleppin, Yossarian Is Back, the Ultimate Catch-22: What to Do When the Statute of Limitations Has Run on Lesser Offenses, 8 St. Thomas L. Rev. 229 (1995).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol8/iss1/13