Cowan v. Superior Court

*370Opinion

CHIN, J.

Petitioner, facing capital murder charges, agreed to plead guilty to the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. Prosecution of that offense, however, is time-barred. Petitioner wants to waive the statute of limitations for voluntary manslaughter to avoid prosecution on the greater charges. We must decide whether he may effectively do so. We conclude that he may expressly waive the statute of limitations when, as here, the waiver is for his benefit.

Facts

A complaint filed in 1994 charged petitioner with committing three murders in 1984 under special circumstances. After the…