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7 Nw. J. L. & Soc. Pol'y 219 (2012)
Easing the Tension before Statutes of Limitations and the Continuing Offense Doctrine

handle is hein.journals/nwjlsopo7 and id is 234 raw text is: Copyright 2012 by Northwestern University School of Law Volume 7 (Spring 2012) Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy Easing the Tension Between Statutes of Limitations and the Continuing Offense Doctrine Jeffrey R. Boles* ABSTRACT This Article is the first to analyze comprehensively the relationship between the continuing offense doctrine and criminal statutes of limitations. The continuing offense doctrine is a powerful tool for prosecutors who face statute of limitations challenges. It functions to delay the running of statutes of limitations for certain crimes by postponing the completion of those crimes. In order to trigger the operation of the doctrine, a court must conclude that a particular crime is a continuing offense for statute of limitations purposes. Identiying what crimes are continuing offenses has been a problematic exercise for federal courts, leading to a growing number of conflicting approaches and circuit splits. Moreover, courts are employing the continuing offense doctrine with increasing frequency, subjecting otherwise time-barred conduct to prosecution and boosting the risk of violation of the rights of the defendant, such as prosecution based upon stale evidence. This Article examines the shortcomings of the continuing offense doctrine and its potential for misuse in the statute of limitations context, and provides solutions to reform the doctrine and restore order in what has become a chaotic area of jurisprudence. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................220 1. CRIMINAL STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS .....................................222 A. Nature and Effects .........................................222 B. Purposes ................................................223 1. Safeguarding the Defendant's Rights ................... ......224 2. Promoting Efficiency. ....................................226 C. Policies Opposing Criminal Statutes ofLimitations ..................226 D. Construction by the Courts. ...................................227 II. CONTINUING OFFENSES ......................................................227 A. Defining a Continuing Offense ................................227 B. Applying the Statute of Limitations to Continuing Offenses. An Overview ......229 C. Brief History of the Continuing Offense Doctrine ............... .....230 D. The Supreme Court's Guidance in Toussie v. United States ...................230 1. The Toussie Test's First Prong: Explicit Language of the Statute.............231 Assistant Professor, Department of Legal Studies, Temple University Fox School of Business. J.D., Ph.D., 2006, University of California, Berkeley. The author would like to thank Constantinos Hotis and Albert Suh for their comments on earlier drafts. All errors are solely those of the author.

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