It's been assumed on some levels that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will not stand trial for sexual assault because the five-year statute of limitations for a civil claim of sexual assault in Texas. The statute of limitations, however, is not a hard and fast rule.
The Dallas Morning News is reporting that legal experts are saying the case may not be thrown out on the basis of the statute of limitations.
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A lawsuit against the Cowboys owner filed by Jana Weckerly alleging that Jones groped and assaulted her comes five years and 10 weeks after the alleged incident was said to have taken place.
"The statute of limitations isn't as hard and fast as some people might believe," Chad Ruback, a Dallas appellate lawyer who reviewed the case and researched the law, told the Dallas Morning News. "We're only talking about 10 weeks or 2 1/2 months."
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Ruback added that Weckerly's lawyer has two points of contention within the law that he could use to convince the court to waive the statute of limitations.
Weckerly, who has stated that she has been depressed and has resorted to drug use because of the alleged incident, can prove she was of an "unsound mind" for 10 or more weeks in those five years, which would stop the clock for that period of time on the statute of limitations.
"She does indicate she's had some severe emotional issues because of this, which might suggest her lawyer is laying the groundwork to later claim at some point during the past five years she was of unsound mind," said Ruback. "The law is vague as to what she'd need to show ... because those standards are all a bit touchy-feely."
Also, if Jones has spent more than 10 weeks outside Texas over the last five years, a judge could rule that the case can go forward despite the missed deadline.
Earlier this week, attorneys for the Cowboys owner submitted case law suggesting "intermittent excursions" outside the state would not suspend the statute of limitations, the Morning News reported.
Jones' attorneys were unable to keep the case sealed, meaning that the case won't be shielded from public view. This latest information is another early factor working against Jones.
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