Laster v. State
| Docket Number: | 2005-CA-01677-COA Linked Case(s): 2005-CA-01677-COA |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 01-09-2007 Opinion Author: KING, C.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Post-conviction relief - Statute of limitations Judge(s) Concurring: LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE AND ROBERTS, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): CARLTON, J. Procedural History: PCR Nature of the Case: CIVIL - POST-CONVICTION RELIEF |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 07-26-2005 Appealed from: DeSoto County Circuit Court Judge: Robert P. Chamberlin Disposition: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF DENIED Case Number: CV2005-0103CD |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | JEFFERY THOMAS LASTER A/K/A JEFFREY THOMAS LASTER |
JAMES D. MINOR |
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| Appellee: | STATE OF MISSISSIPPI | OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JOHN R. HENRY |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Post-conviction relief - Statute of limitations |
| Summary of the Facts: | Jeffery Laster pled guilty to two counts of sexual battery. He was sentenced to serve concurrent twenty-year sentences. He filed a motion for post-conviction relief which was denied. Laster appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The indictment which charged Laster with two counts of sexual battery against a child under the age of fourteen was returned on August 15, 2002. The indictment alleged that the illegal acts occurred between January 1, 1988 and December 31, 1997. Section 99-1-5 provides that prosecution for the crime of sexual battery against a child under the age of fourteen must be commenced on or before the victim’s twenty-first birthday. The record shows that the victim was six months shy of her twenty-first birthday upon commencement of Laster’s prosecution. Laster, however, argues that the illegal acts occurred no later than 1990, and that the applicable statute of limitations provided that prosecution must be commenced within two years from the commission of the crime. The statute of limitations in a criminal case is an affirmative defense that may be waived. So long as Laster entered a valid guilty plea, his statute of limitations argument is barred for consideration on appeal. Laster’s plea was voluntarily given. Since Laster entered a valid guilty plea, his statute of limitations argument is barred. |
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