Does the statute of limitations run when a defendant is charged with a misdemeanor?

4 The present case should be distinguished from that in which a defendant is charged with a misdemeanor. Unlike the situation in felony cases, the prosecution in a misdemeanor action commences at the time the complaint is filed. (Pen.Code, 804, subds. (a) and (b).) As the time during which prosecution of the matter is pending in a court does not count in determining if the applicable statute of limitations has run (Pen.Code, 803, subd. (c)), the statutes of limitation do not protect a misdemeanor defendant from post-complaint delays. The misdemeanor defendant, however, is protected from undue delays because in such cases the complaint acts as the accusation. Thus, in contrast to the felony cases, the filing of the complaint in a misdemeanor action triggers the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. (Serna v. Superior Court (1985) 40 Cal.3d 239, 262, 219 Cal.Rptr. 420, 707 P.2d 793.)