Vernier v. State

This case manifests an effort by Gilbert Paul Vernier (Vernier) to persuade this court to adopt a judicial statute of limitation in a criminal case. Vernier contends his right to due process preserved by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was infringed when the State, after investigating allegations of indecent liberties and second-degree sexual assault in 1984, proceeded to prosecute him for those crimes in 1994. Vernier fails to assert any improper motivation by the prosecutor in connection with the pre-charging delay and, even though he asserts substantial prejudice due to the ten-year delay, he does not bring himself within our cases addressing that concept. Consequently, his assertions of prejudice due to loss of evidence and the failure of his memory articulate only the usual reasons justifying statutes of limitation. Vernier also - Page 1346 contends the Information is so vague and indefinite as to deny him the right to defend himself under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming. In this regard, he also asserts the potential loss of his protection against double jeopardy found in Article 1, Section 11 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming. We are not persuaded to follow Verniers invitation to adopt a judicial statute of limitation. We hold Verniers failure to demonstrate substantial prejudice to his rights to a fair trial and the presence of some intentional effort to obtain a tactical advantage due to the delay forecloses relief for pre-charging delay. In accordance with precedent, the Information filed was sufficient to enable him to prepare a defense and protect him from potential future charges arising out of the same conduct. We affirm the Judgment and Sentence entered in the district court.