Drummond v. Texas (original by judge hervey)
Annotate this CaseIn 2013, the Civil Rights Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office received a complaint alleging that appellee Jimmy Drummond, a sergeant in the Harris County Constable’s Office, engaged in official oppression when he used excessive force while arresting five individuals. Seven days after the complaint was received, and one day before the expiration of the statute of limitations, a probable-cause affidavit was presented to a magistrate who agreed with the State and authorized the issuance of a capias. That same day, an assistant district attorney charged Drummond with official oppression. About three months after the State filed the document in question, a grand jury returned an indictment based on the same allegations, but the indictment did not include tolling language. Drummond filed a motion to quash based on the lack of that language, but before the judge ruled on the motion, a grand jury returned a second indictment that included tolling language. Drummond argued that both indictments should have been quashed, and the trial court agreed. The issue for the Court of Criminal Appeals' review was whether the State successfully tolled the statute of limitations. The court of appeals agreed with the trial court that the State had not tolled the statute of limitations too, holding that, because the State was required to present an information or indictment to prosecute the Class A misdemeanor offense of official oppression, the statute of limitations was not tolled when it presented only a complaint. The Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the document constituted a complaint and information, and the filing was sufficient to toll the statute of limitations. Accordingly, the Court reversed the court of appeals, set aside the trial court’s order granting the motion to quash, and remanded this case for further proceedings.
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