statute of limitations

noun phrase

: a statute assigning a certain time after which rights cannot be enforced by legal action or offenses cannot be punished

Examples of statute of limitations in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In other cases, he was convicted but managed to evade serving his sentence because the statute of limitations had run out. —Koh Ewe, TIME, 31 May 2024

This legerdemain enabled Bragg to circumvent the two-year misdemeanor statute of limitations — in other words, the time to charge this stale case, which is based on seven-year-old bookkeeping entries, lapsed in 2019. —The Editors, National Review, 29 May 2024

The majority of the allegations made in the report occurred before 2002, and the statute of limitations prior to 2001 was six years after the incident or the day the victim turned 18. —Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2024

Advertisement Rubio in 2019 pushed for a bill to extend the statute of limitations from three to 20 years. —Anabel Sosa, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024

Advertisement Schuman, a former member of the 2000s girl group Dream, accused Carter of rape in 2017, though prosecutors declined to file charges because the statute of limitations had expired. —Angie Orellana Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024

The statute of limitations on hail damage in Texas has leeway, but its better to file sooner rather than later. —Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 May 2024

Though the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to pursue criminal charges against Nick in response to Schuman's 2018 lawsuit because the statute of limitations had expired, Schuman did file a civil lawsuit in April 2023. —Rachel Brodsky, TIME, 27 May 2024

The statute of limitations had expired for three of those cases and there was insufficient evidence for one of them, per Variety. —Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 23 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

statute of limitations

1

a

: a statute establishing a period of time from the accrual of a cause of action (as upon the occurrence or discovery of an injury) within which a right of action must be exercised compare laches, statute of repose

b

: a criminal statute establishing the period of time within which an offense can be punished after its commission

2

: a period of time established by a statute of limitations for commencing an action or prosecution

3

: an affirmative defense that the statute of limitations has expired