statute of limitations
53
7.3
- noun
- /ˈstætʃuːt əv ˌlɪmɪˈteɪʃənz/
- Formal
:
plazo de prescripción
- After the statute of limitations expires, you cannot bring charges against the defendant.
- applicable statute of limitations
- statute of limitations applies
- extend the statute of limitations
citizens to engaging in a grift, the statute of limitations is more than three years and nine months.
- citizens to engaging in a grift, the statute of limitations is more than three years and nine months.
- So many states had time limits, statutes of limitations.
- In fact, the statute of limitations has not run on that yet, so they still could actually.
- In my experience through Child USA and my work on statutes of limitations, when one victim comes forward frequently, typically many come after.
- I've now decided to, like, open up the statute of limitations and say to her, yo, lady, what were you doing?
Examples
-
As far as I know, there's no statute of limitations for murder.
Fiction book (1997) -
The statute of limitations is only three years, and most of these victims don't come forward until long after that.
-
In fact, the statute of limitations has not run on that yet, so they still could actually.
-
How does that get us past the statute of limitations?
-
At some point the statute of limitations has gotta run out on that.
-
The statute of limitations has run out.
-
The crimes of September 11 must not be subject to a statute of limitations.
Academic text (2002) -
What's the statute of limitations?
-
There's no statute of limitations on murder.
-
By the time memories of traumatic childhood experiences were recovered, the statute of limitations had long since expired.
Academic text (2000)
Synonyms
63
6.0
A fixed time after an event when you cannot start a court case
35
2.7
A set time by which you must finish something
Surface Forms
Morphology
statute + of + limitation
The components 'statute' (a law) and 'limitation' (a restriction) transparently signal that this is a law that imposes some kind of limit, so learners can infer a general meaning. However, the phrase denotes a specific legal concept — a time bar on initiating proceedings — which is a specialized nuance not fully predictable from everyday meanings, so a B1 learner may not grasp the exact time-limit/legal-procedure sense without exposure.
Etymology
Statute of limitations uses statute for 'law' and limitations for a 'time limit', so imagine a sand timer on a case: when the sand runs out you can no longer 'start a case'. That's why the phrase means the law that sets how long you have to start a legal case.