When a charging document indicates on its face that the prosecution is time-barred and does not contain any information relevant to tolling the statute of limitations, can the charging document indicate that the charge is time barred?

When a charging document indicates on its face that the prosecution is time-barred and does not contain any information relevant to tolling the statute of limitations, "a person convicted of a charged offense may raise the statute of limitations at any time," either in the trial court or for the first time on appeal. (People v. Williams, supra, 21 Cal.4th at pp. 338-341.) In this case, neither the original complaint nor the information on which defendant was tried included any allegations relevant to whether the statute of limitations barred the action. However, the issue of the statute of limitations was not raised in the trial court.

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When the issue has not been raised in the trial court but is asserted for the first time on appeal, the appellate court must review the record and determine whether it contains sufficient information for the court to determine whether the prosecution was time-barred. If the record does not contain sufficient information for the appellate court to make that determination, the court should remand the matter for a hearing in the trial court for the purpose of making that determination. (People v. Williams, supra, 21 Cal.4th at p. 341.)