In the 1969 case of Toussie v. United States, Robert Toussie was charged with failing to register for the draft during a specified period in 1951 when he turned eighteen years old. The government did not indict him until more than five years later, and he argued that this delay violated a federal statute of limitations which states that any offense must be prosecuted within five years. The Supreme Court agreed with Toussie's argument, ruling in his favor by holding that failure to register for the draft is not an ongoing crime but rather one discrete act; therefore, it falls under the standard statute of limitations rule requiring prosecution within five years from when such an act occurs.

In the dissenting opinion for Toussie v. United States, Justice Black disagreed with the majority's interpretation of the statute of limitations in relation to draft evasion cases. He argued that Congress intended a five-year limitation period on prosecutions for failure to register for the draft and that this should start from when an individual reaches 26 years old - not from their initial obligation to register at age 18 as suggested by the majority. Justice Black contended that if Congress had wanted a different outcome, they would have explicitly stated so in legislation. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential abuses of power by prosecutors who could delay bringing charges until evidence or witnesses were no longer available to defendants. In his view, such delays could undermine fair trials and due process rights.