Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse How do I know if my case was dismissed with predjudice or without

I'm trying to find out how to know if my case was dismissed with predjudice or without predjudice, in a safe way that would not lead to the case being reopened due to my inquiry. I recently visited the Iowa Court online case lookup, and found out my case was dismissed in 2017. I then briefly talked with an attorney who I don't think practices criminal law. They seemed uncertain how to go about finding out how the case was dismissed, she was able to find out that the warrant previously issued for my arrest had been withdrawn, and that the case was dismissed due to Statute of Limitations. Here are a few details about the charges:

Controlled Substances Violation - Class D Felony - Charged 3/30/2013 - Dismissed By Court 3/10/2017

I could provide more details if needed, and if there isn't a safe way to find out this information, I would like to know if it would be safe to apply for replacement social security card and get my license reinstated in a different state than the charges? If the case could be reopened, could this possibly cause that to happen? Thanks for your time

Ethereal Sift said:

...and that the case was dismissed due to Statute of Limitations.

Click to expand...

That's your answer. If the dismissal was due to the expiration of the statute of limitations (SOL) then the case cannot be refiled now because it is barred by the SOL.

When did the alleged offense allegedly occur? Was it in 2013 (allegedly)?

Tax Counsel said:

That's your answer. If the dismissal was due to the expiration of the statute of limitations (SOL) then the case cannot be refiled now because it is barred by the SOL.

Click to expand...

If the offense occurred in 2013 (we don't know this yet) and the charges were filed in 2013, then the matter of the statute of limitations should be moot, shouldn't it?

Perhaps the OP is confused about what really happened...

I believe the alleged offense originally occurred in 2012, then charges were filed officially and a warrant issued in 2013. The charges were dismissed 4 years later - after the statute of limitations had taken effect, that's my understanding

I want to ask if I have the correct understanding of Statute of Limitations, is it correct that once the SoL kicks in, the case could never be reopened EVEN if they somehow found out that I was living out of state the whole time? I had seen information about Iowa's SoL and supposedly it does not count if the defendant lives out of state, however they would have had no way to know that I was not residing in Iowa for the past several years since 2013.

Also, someone on another forum suggested that I contact the County Clerk where the charges were filed and just ask them if it was dismissed with or without prejudice, and that information would not lead to the case being refiled. Could you reaffirm this to be sound advice? Thank You

Zigner said:

If the offense occurred in 2013 (we don't know this yet) and the charges were filed in 2013, then the matter of the statute of limitations should be moot, shouldn't it?

Click to expand...

I'm going by what the OP stated. The OP stated the attorney the OP consulted told him/her that the case was dismissed due to the statute of limitations (SOL). If that is correct — that the court dismissed the case for that reason — then the state is precluded from filing again and the dismissal was with prejudice. Of course if the attorney was incorrect or the OP misunderstood what the attorney said then this point wouldn't apply.

Ethereal Sift said:

I believe the alleged offense originally occurred in 2012, then charges were filed officially and a warrant issued in 2013. The charges were dismissed 4 years later - after the statute of limitations had taken effect, that's my understanding.

Click to expand...

Then you may have misunderstood the situation. The SOL applies to the time between when the offense is committed and the charges are filed. If the charges are filed within the SOL period then the SOL is no longer an issue. In Iowa felony offenses for crimes other than murder or sex offenses generally have a 3 year SOL. So if the drug crime in this instance occurred in 2012 and the charges were filed in 2013 then the charges were timely filed and the SOL is no longer an issue, no matter how long the prosecution takes.

However, the state must pursue prosecution and bring the defendant to trial within a fairly quick time frame so as not to violate the defendant's right to a speedy trial. Any delays caused by the defendant do not count against the speedy trial deadline. If the state dragged its feet and failed over 4 years to bring the case to trial, the court may well have dismissed the case for violating the speedy trial rule. That too would end up being a dismissal with prejudice.

But even if the dismissal was without prejudice, the state likely cannot bring charges now unless you left the state after the case was dismissed. The filing of the case may have suspended the SOL (I've not researched Iowa case law to determine that) but even if it did, the SOL would start running again when the case was dismissed. The case was dismissed 3/10/2017. Add to that the year or so that elapsed prior to the charges being filed back in 2013 and the time will be well past the 3 years the state apparently had to file the charges. In that case, the state can't file now.

The one problem here would be if you left Iowa after the dismissal. The time you spent out of state would suspend the SOL. So if you were out of the state for awhile it might be that the state could refile the case now and not violate the SOL. Of course, that would assume the previous case had not been dismissed with prejudice.

Ethereal Sift said:

I had seen information about Iowa's SoL and supposedly it does not count if the defendant lives out of state, however they would have had no way to know that I was not residing in Iowa for the past several years since 2013.

Click to expand...

With that additional information you may have a problem. If you were out of the state the entire time and if the prior case was dismissed without prejudice then the state could refile the charges because the SOL is still open. Note that the SOL is a defense, so it likely would be up to you to prove that you'd been in the state, not up to the state to prove you had been out of the state.

Ethereal Sift said:

I'm trying to find out how to know if my case was dismissed with predjudice or without predjudice

Click to expand...

At any time upon learning of the charges did you abscond?

If a warrant was issued, was it for failure to appear, along with the drug related charges?

Have you contacted the lawyer who originally represented you?

In Iowa, criminal charges don't just age off.

Guest Post - What Does Your Dismissal Without Prejudice Mean? − A 50 State Survey of Savings Statutes | Drug & Device Law

Thank you for taking the time to explain in detail, Tax Council. I have been living in Iowa since the case was dismissed.

Ethereal Sift said:

Thank you for taking the time to explain in detail, Tax Council. I have been living in Iowa since the case was dismissed.

Click to expand...

If you've been living in Iowa since the case was dismissed then the 3 years should have run out given the facts you provided and thus the state couldn't prosecute this old case any longer.