A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated. In civil law systems, similar provisions are typically part of the civil code or criminal code and are often known collectively as periods of prescription.

Applications

Common law legal system might have a statute, for example, limiting the time for prosecution of a debt or crimes designated as misdemeanors to two years after the offense occurred. Under such a statute, if a person is discovered to have committed a misdemeanor three years earlier, the time has expired for the person to be prosecuted. While it may seem unfair to forbid prosecution of crimes that law enforcement can later prove to a standard required by law (cf., e.g., Beyond a reasonable doubt, Clear and convincing evidence, and Preponderance of the evidence), the purpose of a statute of limitations or its equivalent is to ensure that the possibility of punishment for an act committed long ago cannot give rise to either a person's incarceration or the criminal justice system's activation. In short, unless the crime is exceptionally heinous in nature (such as murder where there generally is no statute of limitations), social justice as enacted through law says that lesser crimes from long ago are best left alone so as not to distract attention from more serious crimes.

Reasons for statutes of limitation

One reason is that, over time, evidence can be corrupted or disappear, memories fade, crime scenes are changed, and companies dispose of records. The best time to bring a lawsuit is while the evidence is not lost and as close as possible to the alleged illegal behavior. Another reason is that people want to get on with their lives and not have legal battles from their past come up unexpectedly. The injured party has a responsibility to quickly bring about charges so that the process can begin.

Limitations periods begin when a cause of action is deemed to have arisen or when a plaintiff had reason to know of the harm, rather than at the time of the original event. This distinction is significant in cases in which an earlier event causes a later harm (e.g., a surgeon negligently operates on a patient, who subsequently suffers the consequences of that negligence years later).

In a related concept, contracts may also have a term under which they may be the basis of a suit, and after which a plaintiff is held to have waived any right to claim. Under Article VI of the United States Constitution, private contracts cannot be abridged; this provision has been held by the United States Supreme Court to mean that the federal government or a State can only vitiate a contract if it directly opposes an important public policy. Similarly, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, codified into law applicable to European Union countries by the passage civil lawsuit, is said to have accrued when the event beginning its time limitation occurs. Sometimes it is the event itself that is the subject of the suit or prosecution (such as a crime or personal injury), but it may also be an event such as the ''discovery'' of a condition one wishes to redress, such as discovering a defect in a manufactured good, or in the case of controversial "repressed memory" cases where someone discovers memories of childhood sexual abuse long afterwards.

Statute of repose

An idea closely related, but not identical, to the statute of limitations is a statute of repose. A statute of repose limits the time within which an action may be brought and is not related to the accrual of any cause of action; the injury need not have occurred, much less have been discovered. Unlike an ordinary statute of limitations, which begins running upon accrual of the claim, the period contained in a statute of repose begins when a specific event occurs, regardless of whether a cause of action has accrued or whether any injury has resulted. This often applies to buildings and properties, and limits the time during which an action may lie based upon defects or hazards connected to the construction of the building or premises. An example of this would be that if a person is electrocuted by a wiring defect incorporated into a structure in, say, 1990, a state law may allow his heirs to sue only before 1997 in the case of an open (patent) defect, or before 2000 in the case of a hidden defect. Statutes of repose can also apply to manufactured goods. Manufacturers contend they are necessary to avoid unfairness and encourage consumers to maintain their property. Consumer groups argue that statutes of repose on consumer goods provide a disincentive for manufacturers to build durable products and to notify consumers of product defects as the manufacturers become aware of them. Consumer groups also argue that such statutes of repose disproportionately affect poorer people, since they are more likely to own older goods.

Expiry

Once the time allowed for a case by a statute of limitations runs out, if a party raises it as a defense and that defense is accepted, any further litigation is foreclosed. Most jurisdictions provide that limitations are tolled under certain circumstances. Tolling will prevent the time for filing suit from running while the condition exists. Examples of such circumstances are if the aggrieved party (plaintiff) is a minor, or the plaintiff has filed a bankruptcy proceeding. In those instances, in most jurisdictions, the running of limitations is tolled until the circumstance (''i.e.,'' the injured party reaches majority in the former or the bankruptcy proceeding is concluded in the latter) no longer exists.

There may be a number of factors that will affect the tolling of a statute of limitations. In many cases, the discovery of the harm (as in a medical malpractice claim where the fact or the impact of the doctor's mistake is not immediately apparent) starts the statute running. In some jurisdictions the action is said to have not accrued until the harm is discovered; in others, the action accrues when the malpractice occurs, but an action to redress the harm is tolled until the injured party discovers the harm.

As discussed in ''Wolk v. Olson'', the discovery rule does not apply to mass-media publications such as newspapers and the Internet; the statute of limitations begins to run at the date of publication.

An action to redress a tort committed against a minor is generally tolled in most cases until the child reaches the age of majority. A ten-year-old who is injured in a car accident might therefore be able to bring suit one, two, or three years after he turns 18.

It may also be inequitable to allow a defendant to use the defense of the running of the limitations period, such as the case of an individual in the position of authority over someone else who intimidates the victim into never reporting the wrongdoing, or where one is led to believe that the other party has agreed to suspend the limitations period during good faith settlement negotiations or due to a fraudulent misrepresentation.

Generally speaking, in the case of private, civil matters, the limitations period may be shortened or lengthened by agreement of the parties. Under the Uniform Commercial Code the parties to a contract for sale of goods may reduce the limitations period to not less than one year but may not extend it.

Although such limitations periods generally are issues of law, limitations periods known as laches may apply in situations of equity (''i.e.'', a judge will not issue an injunction if the party requesting the injunction waited too long to ask for it). Such periods are not clearly defined and are subject to broad judicial discretion.

For U.S. military cases, the Uniform Code of Military Justice states that all charges except for those facing general court martial (where a death sentence could be involved) have a five-year statute of limitation. This statute changes once charges have been prepared against the service member. In all supposed UCMJ violations except for those headed for general court martial, should the charges be dropped, there is a six-month window in which the charges can be reinstated. If those six months have passed and the charges have not been reinstated, the statutes of limitation have run out.

Prescription

In civil law countries and the U.S. State of Louisiana, almost all lawsuits must be started within a legally determined period. If they are presented after that time, an institution called prescription applies, which prevents them from filing the case.

For criminal cases, this means that the public prosecutor must prosecute within some time limit. The time limit varies from country to country, and increases with seriousness of the alleged crime (for example, in most jurisdictions, there is no statute of limitations for murder). When a time limit is suspended, it does not run (akin to hitting "Stop" on a stopwatch). Common triggers include the defendant being on the run. When a time limit is interrupted, it is restarted (like hitting "Reset" on a stopwatch). This may be triggered by a new crime committed.

If a criminal is on the run, he can be convicted in absence, in order to prevent prescription, or the time limit does not elapse during that time.

The prescription must not be confused with the need to prosecute within "a reasonable delay", an obligation imposed by the European Court of Human Rights. Whether the delay is reasonable or not, will depend on the complexity of the trial and the attitude of the suspect.

Exclusions

=== Fraud upon the court === In the United States, when an officer of the court is found to have fraudulently presented facts to court so that the court is impaired in the impartial performance of its legal task, the act, known as "fraud upon the court", is a crime deemed so severe and fundamentally opposed to the operation of justice that it is not subject to any statute of limitation.

Officers of the court include: Lawyers, Judges, Referees, and those appointed; Guardian Ad Litem, Parenting Time Expeditors, Mediators, Rule 114 Neutrals, Evaluators, Administrators, special appointees, and any others whose influence are part of the judicial mechanism.

"Fraud upon the court" has been defined by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to "embrace that species of fraud which does, or attempts to, defile the court itself, or is a fraud perpetrated by officers of the court so that the judicial machinery can not perform in the usual manner its impartial task of adjudging cases that are presented for adjudication". Kenner v. C.I.R., 387 F.3d 689 (1968); 7 Moore's Federal Practice, 2d ed., p. 512, ¶ 60.23

In Bullock v. United States, 763 F.2d 1115, 1121 (10th Cir. 1985), the court stated "Fraud upon the court is fraud which is directed to the judicial machinery itself and is not fraud between the parties or fraudulent documents, false statements or perjury. ... It is where the court or a member is corrupted or influenced or influence is attempted or where the judge has not performed his judicial function --- thus where the impartial functions of the court have been directly corrupted."

International crimes

By way of custom of international law, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes are usually not subject to statute of limitations, nor to prescription. This custom has been codified in a number of multilateral treaties. States that ratify the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity agree to not allow limitations claims for these crimes. Article 29 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court states that genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes "shall not be subject to any statute of limitations".

Heinous crimes in the U.S.

Crimes that are considered exceptionally heinous by society have no statute of limitations. As a rule, there is no statute of limitations for murder, especially capital or first-degree murder.

Continuing violations doctrine

In tort law, if a defendant commits a series of illegal acts against another person, or, in criminal law, if someone commits a continuing crime (like molesting a child over a long period of time, which can be charged as a single offense), the period of limitation may begin to run from the last act in the series. In the 8th Circuit case of ''Treanor v. MCI Telecommunications, Inc.'', the court explained that the continuing violations doctrine "tolls [i.e freezes] the statute of limitations in situations where a continuing pattern forms due to [illegal] acts occurring over a period of time, as long as at least one incident . . . occurred within the limitations period". However, in the United States, there has been doctrinal confusion in the courts regarding whether or not the continuing violations doctrine applies to particular violations. For example, the continuing violations doctrine has been ruled to apply to copyright infringement per Taylor v. Meirick 712 F.2d 1112, 1119 (7th Cir. 1983), but has been ruled to not apply per Stone v. Williams, 970 F.2d 1043, 1049-50 (2d Cir. 1992).

See also

Adverse possession

Equitable tolling

Laches

Limitation Act 1980 (England and Wales)

Nullum tempus occurrit regi

Statute of Limitations in Ireland

Statute of repose

Tort reform

References

Category:Civil procedure Category:Criminal procedure Category:Statutory law *Main

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Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Broderick Crawford
birth name	William Broderick Crawford
birth date	December 09, 1911
birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
death date
spouse	Kay Griffith (1940-1958) (divorced) 2 childrenJoan Tabor (1962-1967) (divorced)Mary Alice Moore (1973-1986) (his death)
death place	Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor
years active	1937–1985 }}

Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an Academy Award-winning American stage, film, radio and TV actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his starring role in the television series "Highway Patrol."

Early life

Crawford was born William Broderick Crawford in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Lester Crawford and Helen Broderick, who were both vaudeville performers, as his grandparents had been. His father appeared in films in the 1920s and 1930s; his mother had a minor career in Hollywood comedies. He joined his parents on the stage, working for producer Max Gordon. When vaudeville went into decline, he attended Harvard University for three months, but dropped out to work as a stevedore on the New York docks.

Acting career

Crawford returned to vaudeville and radio, which included a period with the Marx Brothers on their NBC radio comedy show Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel. He played his first serious character as a footballer in ''She Loves Me Not'' at the Adelphi Theatre, London in 1932. Crawford's talents were spotted by Noël Coward during the three weeks the play ran. Coward also played in the 1935 Broadway production of 'Point Valaine'.

Early in his career, Crawford was stereotyped as a rough-talking tough guy and frequently played the villain. He gained fame in 1937, when he starred as Lenny in ''Of Mice and Men'' on Broadway. He moved to Hollywood, but did not play the role in the film version. (It went to Lon Chaney, Jr..)

During World War II Crawford enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. Assigned to the Armed Forces Network, he was sent to Britain in 1944 as a sergeant, serving as an announcer for the Glenn Miller American Band.

In 1949 Crawford was cast as Willie Stark, a character based on Louisiana politician Huey Long, in ''All the King's Men'', which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. The following year he starred in another hit film, ''Born Yesterday''.

Despite his success Crawford's career suffered because of typecasting and his own, sometimes belligerent, personality. Nevertheless, he appeared in such successful films as Phil Karlson's ''Scandal Sheet'' (1952), Fritz Lang's ''Human Desire'' (1954), Federico Fellini's ''Il bidone'' (1955) and Richard Fleischer's ''Between Heaven and Hell'' (1956). He appeared also in Stanley Kramer's ''Not as a Stranger'' (1955), "the worst film with the best cast"; and he even tried the European sword and sandal films in Vittorio Cotaffavi's ''La vendetta di Ercole'' (1960) also known in USA as ''Goliath and the Dragon''.

In 1955 television producer Frederick Ziv offered Crawford the lead role as "Chief" Dan Mathews in the police drama ''Highway Patrol''. The program was very popular during its four years (1955–1959) of first-run syndication and remained on local stations for many years afterward. The show revived Crawford's career, and he concentrated on television for the rest of his life. For much of the period from 1955 until 1965 most of his television roles involved Ziv, who was among the relative handful of producers willing to accept the occasional challenges inherent in working with the hard-living Crawford. Years later Ziv admitted to an interviewer, "To be honest, Broderick could be a handful!" When the show ended Crawford was given the starring role in another Ziv production, ''King of Diamonds'', playing diamond industry security chief John King; the show lasted just one season (1961–62).

Crawford was typecast in his television roles as gruff but fearless characters. He appeared in few American motion pictures after 1955, though he continued to accept occasional roles in European-made films. Playing on a stereotype of his famous TV role, he wore the trademark fedora and black suit when he made an appearance as guest host of a 1977 episode of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' that included a spoof of ''Highway Patrol'', featuring Dan Aykroyd, a longtime fan of the original show, and one in which he portrayed FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, in a humorous send-up of Hoover's sexuality.

In an episode of the TV series ''CHiPs'' Crawford appeared as himself, recognized after being stopped by Officer Poncherello, who presses a reluctant Crawford to give his trademark line from ''Highway Patrol'' ("Twenty-One-Fifty to Headquarters!"). This episode, filmed nearly two decades after ''Highway Patrol'' ceased production in 1959, demonstrated the enduring image which followed Crawford.

Musician Webb Wilder's instrumental, "Ruff Rider" (on the album ''It Came From Nashville''), is dedicated to Broderick Crawford in admiration of his ''Highway Patrol'' character's ability to solve any crime committed in California by setting up a road block. Crawford worked in 140 motion pictures and television series during his career and remained an especially durable presence in television. His last role was as a film producer who is murdered in a 1982 episode of the "Simon and Simon" television series. Ironically, the actor who played the part of the suspected murderer was Stuart Whitman, who had played the recurring part of Sergeant Walters on "Highway Patrol".

Death

Crawford married three times; he had two sons (Kelly and Kim) from his marriage to actress Kay Griffith. He died of a stroke in 1986 at the age of 74 in Rancho Mirage, California after years of hard living and drinking, which continued virtually unabated to the end of his life. One of his long term pals for such adventures was Lon Chaney, Jr. He is one of the few performers who have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard and another for television at 6734 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography

''Woman Chases Man'' (1937)

''Start Cheering'' (1938)

''Ambush'' (1939)

''Sudden Money'' (1939)

''Undercover Doctor'' (1939)

''Beau Geste'' (1939)

''Island of Lost Men'' (1939)

''The Real Glory'' (1939)

''Eternally Yours'' (1939)

''Slightly Honorable'' (1940)

''I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby'' (1940)

''When the Daltons Rode'' (1940)

''Seven Sinners'' (1940)

''Trail of the Vigilantes'' (1940)

''The Texas Rangers Ride Again'' (1940)

''The Black Cat'' (1941)

''Tight Shoes'' (1941)

''Badlands of Dakota'' (1941)

''South of Tahiti'' (1941)

''North to the Klondike'' (1942)

''Butch Minds the Baby'' (1942)

''Larceny, Inc.'' (1942)

''Broadway'' (1942)

''Keeping Fit'' (1942)

''Men of Texas'' (1942)

''Sin Town'' (1942)

''The Runaround'' (1946)

''Black Angel'' (1946)

''Slave Girl'' (1947)

''The Flame'' (1947)

''The Time of Your Life'' (1948)

''Sealed Verdict'' (1948)

''Bad Men of Tombstone'' (1949)

''A Kiss in the Dark'' (1949)

''Night Unto Night'' (1949)

''All the King's Men'' (1949)

''Cargo to Capetown'' (1950)

''Convicted'' (1950)

''Born Yesterday'' (1950)

''Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Awards'' (1951)

''The Mob'' (1951)

''Scandal Sheet'' (1952)

''Lone Star'' (1952)

''Stop, You're Killing Me'' (1952)

''Last of the Comanches'' (1953)

''The Last Posse'' (1953)

''Night People'' (1954)

''Human Desire'' (1954)

''Down Three Dark Streets'' (1954)

''Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Goes to Mexico'' (1954)

''Man on a Bus'' (1955)

''New York Confidential'' (1955)

''Big House, U.S.A.'' (1955)

''Not as a Stranger'' (1955)

''Il bidone'' (1955)

''The Fastest Gun Alive'' (1956)

''Between Heaven and Hell'' (1956)

''The Decks Ran Red'' (1958)

''Goliath and the Dragon'' (1960)

''Convicts 4'' (1962)

''The Castilian'' (1962)

''No temas a la ley'' (1963)

''Square of Violence'' (1963)

''A House Is Not a Home'' (1964)

''Up from the Beach'' (1965)

''Mutiny at Fort Sharp'' (1966)

''Kid Rodelo'' (1966)

''The Oscar'' (1966)

''The Texican'' (1966)

''Red Tomahawk'' (1967)

''The Vulture'' (1967)

''The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go'' (1970)

''Ransom Money'' (1970)

''Hell's Bloody Devils'' (1970)

''The Naughty Cheerleader'' (1970)

''Gregorio and His Angel'' (1970)

''Embassy'' (1972)

''The Candidate'' (1972)

''Terror in the Wax Museum'' (1973)

''Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood'' (1976)

''Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby''

''Proof of the Man'' (1977)

''The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover'' (1977)

''A Little Romance'' (1979)

''Harlequin'' (1980)

''There Goes the Bride'' (1980)

''The Uppercrust'' (1982)

''Liar's Moon'' (1982)

References

External links

Watch Highway Patrol

Broderick Crawford in Il Bidone

Profile @ Turner Classic Movies

Category:1911 births Category:1986 deaths Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Best Actor Academy Award winners Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:People from Freeport, New York Category:Deaths from stroke Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers Category:American military personnel of World War II

an:Broderick Crawford ca:Broderick Crawford de:Broderick Crawford es:Broderick Crawford fr:Broderick Crawford it:Broderick Crawford he:ברודריק קרופורד nl:Broderick Crawford ja:ブロデリック・クロフォード no:Broderick Crawford pl:Broderick Crawford pt:Broderick Crawford ro:Broderick Crawfort ru:Кроуфорд, Бродерик simple:Broderick Crawford sr:Бродерик Крофорд sh:Broderick Crawford fi:Broderick Crawford sv:Broderick Crawford yo:Broderick Crawford

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Beth Bye
state senate	Connecticut
district	5th
term start	January 2011
preceded	Jonathan Harris
state house1	Connecticut
district1	19th
term start1	January 2007
term end1	January 2011
preceded1	Bob Farr
succeeded1	Brian Becker
birth place	Greenwich, Connecticut
residence	West Hartford, Connecticut
party	Democrat
spouse	Tracey Wilson
website	}}

Beth Bye is an American politician from Connecticut. A Democrat, she is a member of the Connecticut Senate representing the 5th district, which includes parts of Bloomfield and Farmington, all of Burlington and all of her hometown of West Hartford. She formerly served two terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011.

A former Vice Chair of the West Hartford School Board, she was elected to the legislature in November 2006. She defeated Republican Barbara Carpenter, a member of the town council, by a margin of 57% to 43% and was therefore elected to succeed longtime Republican incumbent Bob Farr. Although the district had elected a Republican for the 26 years prior to her 2006 win, she nevertheless won re-election comfortably in 2008: Bye garnered 64% of the vote to her Republican opponent's 36%.

In May 2010, shortly after Sen. Jonathan Harris (D-West Hartford) announced that he would not run for another term in the senate in order to seek the Democratic nomination for Secretary of the State, Bye declared her candidacy for his senate seat. She won the Democratic nomination unopposed and easily prevailed against a Republican opponent. She took office as a state senator on January 5, 2011.

Bye is a long-time resident of West Hartford and was first elected to the school board in 2001. She is the former director of Trinity College Community Child Care and the School for Young Children at Saint Joseph College. Beth has been involved with the development of 3 preschool facilities since 2000: The School for Young Children in West Hartford, The Charter School for Young Children in Hartford and The Wintonbury Early Childhood Magnet School in Bloomfield.

Bye is an alumna of the University of New Hampshire where she earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in Child Development, specializing in child care research. She continues to conduct research about the impact of economic integration with Dr. Carlota Schechter. Their research was published on Early Childhood Research Quarterly in March 2007 and was featured in the newsletter of the National Institute for Early Education Research in July 2007.

A lesbian, Bye married her partner Tracey Wilson on November 12, 2008. They were the first gay couple to be married in Connecticut. Dr. Wilson is the West Hartford town historian and the couple live with their four children in West Hartford. Bye is one of two openly gay members of the Connecticut General Assembly, serving alongside Sen. Andrew M. Maynard (D-Stonington). Bye had been the first member of the legislature to enter into a civil union. Her 2006 and 2008 campaigns won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.

References

External links

2010 Senate campaign

Legislative homepage

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Category:Lesbian politicians Category:LGBT state legislators of the United States Category:University of New Hampshire alumni Category:Women state legislators in Connecticut Category:Connecticut Democrats Category:Connecticut State Senators