618
Opinion of the Court
nal case "violates the Due Process Clause"), aff'd on state-law grounds, 324 Ore. 19, 920 P. 2d 1086 (1996); Commonwealth v. Guimento, 341 Pa. Super. 95, 97-98, 491 A. 2d 166, 167-168 (1985) (enforcing a state ban on ex post facto laws apparently equivalent to the federal prohibition); People v. Chesebro, 185 Mich. App. 412, 416, 463 N. W. 2d 134, 135-136 (1990) (reciting "the general rule" that, " 'where a complete defense has arisen under [a statute of limitations], it cannot be taken away by a subsequent repeal thereof' ").
Even where courts have upheld extensions of unexpired statutes of limitations (extensions that our holding today does not affect, see supra, at 613), they have consistently distinguished situations where limitations periods have expired. Further, they have often done so by saying that extension of existing limitations periods is not ex post facto "provided," "so long as," "because," or "if" the prior limitations periods have not expired—a manner of speaking that suggests a presumption that revival of time-barred criminal cases is not allowed. E. g., United States v. Madia, 955 F. 2d 538, 540 (CA8 1992) (" 'provided' "); United States v. Richardson, 512 F. 2d 105, 106 (CA3 1975) ("provided"); People v. Anderson, 53 Ill. 2d 437, 440, 292 N. E. 2d 364, 366 (1973) ("so long as"); United States v. Haug, 21 F. R. D. 22, 25 (ND Ohio 1957) ("so long as"), aff'd, 274 F. 2d 885 (CA6 1960), cert. denied, 365 U. S. 811 (1961); United States v. Kurzenknabe, 136 F. Supp. 17, 23 (NJ 1955) ("so long as"); State v. Duffy, 300 Mont. 381, 390, 6 P. 3d 453, 460 (2000) ("because"); State v. Davenport, 536 N. W. 2d 686, 688 (N. D. 1995) ("because"); Andrews v. State, 392 So. 2d 270, 271 (Fla. App. 1980) ("if"), review denied, 399 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1981). See, e. g., Shedd, supra, at 268 (citing Richardson, supra, and Andrews, supra, as directly supporting a conclusion that a law reviving time-barred offenses is ex post facto). Cf. Commonwealth v. Duffy, 96 Pa. 506, 514 (1881) ("[I]n any case where a right to acquittal has not been absolutely acquired by the completion of the period of limitation, that period
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