I keep asking this question and not getting an answer.

[rzemanfl]

I have seen people on the media say, "There is no Statute of Limitation for rape in Maryland."

Kavanaugh agreed. What I have not seen is someone say, "There was no Statute of Limitation for rape in Maryland in the early 1980's." We've already learned there was a one year Statute of Limitation for attempted rape until 1996. https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211206586

This is an important question IMHO. I posted a question in the Maryland Group but got no answer.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10562559

I think this "no Statute of Limitation" business may be keeping people from coming forward. If it isn't true it should be debunked.

People might come forward if they weren't afraid of going to or sending someone to prison.

[marylandblue]

1. I don't know the answer, but

I'd assume anyone who may have committed a crime themselves back then would contact a lawyer rather than go by what thet read on the internet.

[rzemanfl]

2. It's on TV too. Why would they contact a lawyer rather than just lay low? n/t

[marylandblue]

3. It cuts two ways

If they want to come forward, check with a lawyer before incriminating yourself. If they don't want to come forward, they need to know what to do if someone else comes forward and implicates them along with Kavanaugh.

[rzemanfl]

4. I think the former is stronger motivation than the latter. Also, what if the person who is thinking

they might come forward and implicate them doesn't really want them to be exposed to the possibility of going to prison? What is always said is "There is no Statute of Limitation in Maryland." That's true but no one asks the follow up. Would you do me a favor and pose this question to a local newspaper? If I was in Maryland I am sure I could find the answer at a decent law library in an hour or less.

[marylandblue]

5. You can send your question to the Washington Post.

[rzemanfl]

13. Thank you. I did send it Rachel Maddow last night. n/t

[marylandblue]

14. I found something that answers your question

Bottom line is, assault with intent to rape had no SOL back then.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.citylab.com/amp/article/571507/

[rzemanfl]

15. When I went to law school, tweets didn't exist. I question whether

this tweet from a former Assistant Attorney General carries much weight.

In a tweet thread posted on Friday night, Vignarajah added: “For those looking at Md statute of limitations (SOL), the closest thing to what we today call attempted first-degree rape was, in 1982, assault with intent to rape, which is a felony to which no SOL applies. (Not to be confused with the misdemeanor of attempt to rape.)”


"Closest thing" is not a very convincing argument. Ex post facto alarms are going off.

[marybourg]

6. What is the question?

[rzemanfl]

8. I asked it in the Maryland group thread I linked to.

"Can some Maryland lawyer find the Statute of Limitations in Maryland for rape in the early 1980's please? It seems there is bad information that there was no Statute of Limitations on attempted rape in 1982 and I suspect the same would apply to rape, although the limitation period would probably have been longer."

[canetoad]

7. Is this any help to you?

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/09/maryland-statute-limitations/571507/

/snip
The Montgomery County Police Department released a statement Monday saying it had not yet opened a local investigation, and that it wouldn’t do so until (or if) Ford, Ford’s lawyer, or another victim or victim’s lawyer requested it explicitly. “Typically, in a sexual assault case, the cooperation of the victim or witnesses is necessary,” the release states. “As with any criminal investigation, a determination must be made as to the jurisdiction where the alleged offense occurred and the specific details of the event to establish a potential criminal charge.”

Significantly, Ford’s particular allegation may also be barred at least in part by the state’s time limit on prosecutions. Although Maryland is one of few states without a statute of limitations on felony charges of rape and attempted rape, the incident Blasey Ford described—a crime of attempted rape between two minors (a 17-year-old boy or 15-year-old girl)—would have been a misdemeanor in 1982, though it’s a felony now. Crimes prosecuted years later are still punished according to the laws of the time: You can’t be charged for a felony without knowing you’re committing one.

Ford’s allegations could, however, lead to other felony charges that have no statutes of limitations in Maryland, including assault with the intent to rape, according to Thiru Vignarajah, Maryland’s former deputy attorney general.

[rzemanfl]

9. Very helpful although vague on

ex post facto concerns. Thank you!

[unblock]

10. Thanks. Unclear. I've also heard kidnapping may be a possible charge

Taking someone against their will even just from one room to another is still kidnapping.

[dsc]

11. I read, but don't remember where, that it dates from an 1982 court decision

early part of 1982. If true, that means it counts.

[rzemanfl]

12. I don't understand. n/t