People v. Meza, 251 Cal. Rptr. 3d 250

On Sept. 20, 2014 Meza assaulted his 17-year-old daughter; injuries documented. Two years later (Sept. 28, 2016) the DA filed felony child endangerment charges (wobbler).
At trial the prosecution requested a packet of jury instructions that included the lesser included misdemeanor (§ 273a, subd. (b)); defense counsel responded "Yes, your honor" when the court asked if both sides accepted the instructions.
The court instructed the jury on the felony and the lesser included misdemeanor but did not give a statute-of-limitations instruction; defense made no contemporaneous objection.
Jury acquitted Meza of the felony but convicted him of the misdemeanor; Meza appealed claiming the one-year statute of limitations for the misdemeanor had run.
The People conceded the misdemeanor was time-barred but argued Meza forfeited the issue by assenting to the prosecutor's instruction packet.
The Court of Appeal held general assent to the prosecutor’s packet does not constitute forfeiture of a statute-of-limitations defense; because the misdemeanor conviction was uncontestably time-barred, the court reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a defendant forfeits the right to challenge a conviction as time-barred for a lesser included misdemeanor when defense counsel generally assents to the prosecution's instruction packet	People: Meza forfeited because defense counsel acquiesced to instructions including the lesser offense	Meza: General assent to the prosecution's packet is not the same as requesting or knowingly waiving the statute-of-limitations defense	Court: General assent alone does not forfeit the statute-of-limitations defense; reversal because the misdemeanor was time-barred
Whether the one-year statute of limitations applies to a lesser included misdemeanor reduced from a charged felony	People argued procedural forfeiture; not disputed that misdemeanor limitations apply	Meza: one-year limitations applies to the convicted lesser misdemeanor	Court: The one-year misdemeanor limitation governs lesser included misdemeanors and completely bars prosecution when elapsed

People v. Mincey, 2 Cal.4th 408 (Cal. 1992) (explains that when a charged felony results in conviction of a necessarily included misdemeanor, the misdemeanor one-year limitations period applies)
Cowan v. Superior Court, 14 Cal.4th 367 (Cal. 1996) (defendant may waive statute-of-limitations for time-barred lesser offense by express informed waiver when beneficial)
People v. Williams, 21 Cal.4th 335 (Cal. 1999) (when charging document shows on its face the offense is time-barred, defendant may raise the statute of limitations at any time)
People v. Stanfill, 76 Cal.App.4th 1137 (Cal. Ct. App. 1999) (held defendant forfeits challenge to time-barred lesser included conviction when defendant requested or acquiesced in giving the lesser instruction)
People v. Beasley, 105 Cal.App.4th 1078 (Cal. Ct. App. 2003) (applied Stanfill but reversed where record contained no indication defendant requested or acquiesced in the lesser-included instruction)