A complaint was filed against me on November 1, 2006. Today is December 1, 2007. Rule 600g states that the Commonwealth has 365 from the day of the filing of the complaint to prosecute me. Can I still be charged?
The issue is whether you were actually charged, and does the informal filing of a complaint with no subsequent arrest equal the actual filing of complaint under rule 600g? The filing of the complaint aspect of the rule has generally been defined to mean the commencement of criminal proceedings against the defendant.
An arrest is the actual beginning of criminal proceedings. Therefore, I would say that if you have not been arrested, the clock has not started to tick.
This answer does not mean that if you are ever arrested that you can't make an argument under the statue of limitation or pre-arrest delay that District Attorney be barred from prosecuting you. See my previous answers under the statute of limitation and pre-arrest delay for more details.Labels: 600g, pre-arrest delay, pre-trial arrest delay, statute of limitations