Is there another slang term for Statute of limitations?

Answer 1

Statute of limitations is sometimes called, SL or SOL for short. Statutes of limitation are laws setting time limits for legal action. The clock starts to run on the date an offense was committed, not from when the crime was found out or the accused identified.

Most US States have a statute of limitation for all crimes but murder. Once the statute has expired, however, a prosecutor still may file charges. When this happens the defendant must plead the statute of limitations defense before the court when answering the plaintiff's complaint. If the defendant does not do so, they are regarded as having waived the defense and cannot use it in any subsequent proceeding.

Crimes are viewed as being against all of society, not only the obvious victim. So only a prosecutor can file or dismiss charges, not the victim who files the complaint. This also means a defendant cannot pressure their victim into dropping charges.

Statutes of limitation date back to early Roman law, around 700 BC. They apply to both civil and criminal actions, and are designed to prevent claims from arising after the evidence has been lost, or time has distorted facts, or witnesses have died or disappeared.