An Actual Legal Point

There is the strangest thing in the Tom Delay indictment. The crime he is accused of had a three year statute of limitations. The State missed the deadline which normally means the charge would be dismissed. But the indictment has the following paragraph (the likes of which I have not seen in over 15 years of practicing criminal law): "The Grand Jury further presents that, with the advise and consent of counsel, the defendent, Thomas Dale DeLay, did heretofore knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive application of Articles 12.01 and 12.02 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure [those are the statute of limitation statutes] to the indictment presented herein. In particular, the Grand Jury present that with the advice and consent of counsel, the defendent, Thomas Dale DeLay, did knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive the requirement that an indictment for the felony offense . . . be presented within three years from the date of commission of the offense . . . ." Huh? I've never told a DA to take his/her time to indict my client and we won't assert the statute of limitations as a defense. Something is going on.