Morreale v. State
Morreale appealed the denial of her motion to dismiss an information for uttering a forged check on statute-of-limitations grounds; the Fifth DCA treated the appeal as a petition for writ of prohibition. The court held that the filing of a detainer while the defendant was incarcerated does not satisfy the 'execution' requirement of section 775.15(4)(b), which requires actual service of process on the defendant to commence prosecution within the limitations period, and remanded for the trial court to determine whether a capias or summons was executed without unreasonable delay.
Key facts
- Morreale was charged with uttering a forged check and moved to dismiss the information on statute-of-limitations grounds.
- The State filed an information against Morreale while she was incarcerated, but only filed a detainer rather than executing actual service of a capias or summons on her.
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Why it matters
This opinion reinforces and clarifies that a detainer alone does not toll or satisfy the statute of limitations 'execution' requirement under section 775.15(4)(b), a recurring issue for incarcerated defendants facing… — full analysis with a trial
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