Put simply, a statute of limitations is a legal deadline whereby a person cannot be prosecuted for a crime once a certain amount of time has elapsed. In the same breath a statute of limitation also provides victims of crime additional time to bring forward a case against a person, or business, that has caused them harm – even if several years have passed since the original incident took place.
Why Have Them?
The primary reason we have statutes of limitation is to ensure that crimes are resolved in a timely manner, before evidence of those crimes has deteriorated as the years pass by. This includes the recollection of witnesses, which can only be relied on for so long before the person’s memory lapses, or they’re simply confused as to the sequence of events which originally took place.
There’s also the factor that once a crime, of whatever kind, has taken place, people want to be able to move on with their lives. Nobody wants to sit waiting for legal documentation to arrive fifteen years after being involved in a car accident. Conversely it also allows victims of physical injuries additional time to claim for damages if their injury was to become worse, or if the final diagnosis of a life-impairing medical condition took several years.
In effect what a statute of limitation does is ensure that ample time is provided for a victim to prosecute their claim, or for evidence to be brought forward by law enforcement in relation to criminal activity. Once that time has elapsed the assumption must be made that the person is innocent of the crime they’re accused of because sufficient evidence can’t be gathered. Or that the injured party is no longer interested in pursuing a personal injury claim, for example.
Duration
It’s impossible to provide a comprehensive list of how long each statute of limitation lasts, for each state, and for every possible legal situation. What it is safe to say is that the statute of limitations varies from state to state, sometimes dramatically, so never make the assumption that you have x number of years to prosecute a person just because you heard it from a friend. The only reliable source for accurate information on the statute of limitation in relation to your own case is a qualified, and practicing, lawyer.
It’s also worth mentioning that a statute of limitation can be suspended when a person moves to another state, but it will automatically resume once the person is found to be resident in that state again. This especially applies to people who become fugitives from law enforcement, hoping that they can “run down the clock” by going into hiding in another state.
Are All Crimes Covered?
Most court cases where a statute of limitation comes into play will involve the “less serious” crimes of personal injury, malpractice, breach of contract, fraud, civil judgments, income tax cases, bribery, property damage, or a lawsuit against a government body.
Generally speaking, crimes which have no statute of limitation include murder, violent crime, arson, forgery, treason, kidnapping and sexual offenses involving children. These are crimes which have dramatically altered a person’s life, so require prosecution as soon as is humanly possible.
If you have any questions or concerns about how the statute of limitations might affect your own legal circumstances, please seek professional advice of a lawyer specializes in criminal law. Remember, if the statute of limitations has expired your case will be dismissed by the courts.