The courts
statute of limitations
A deadline for bringing a case, running from when the harm occurred or was discovered. Miss it and the claim is barred no matter how strong it is.
In full
Limits vary by claim and by jurisdiction, from one year for some torts to none at all for murder. The clock can be tolled, or paused, for minority, fraudulent concealment, or an absent defendant. The rationale is evidentiary: memories fade and records are destroyed, so the law sets an outer edge on when a dispute can still be tried fairly.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.