Statute of Limitations: A Historical Perspective
STATUE OF LIMITATIONS
CRJC 222-01 Community Based Corrections
AQuenum
Goings 1
 This research examines the concept of the statute of limitations from a historical perspective. The research will set forth the origins of the concept in Western culture and its evolution from Roman to English law, and then discuss major features of its transfer and application in the American legal system, with a view toward identifying how it was viewed by various legal authorities in the US and various uses to which it has been put. The concept of the statute of limitations is deceptively simple. In the popular mind, the term refers to the amount of time during which a plaintiff may pursue a cause of civil action in court or, in criminal law, the amount of time that must elapse before a defendant is legally excused from the criminal liability associated with a crime. It is of course a truism of television courtroom drama (and the law, as it happens) that there is no statute of limitations on murder. But as will become clearer in the course of this report, the principal concern of the concept of the statute of limitations has always been connected far more to property and its ownership than to responsibility and its ownership. Their primary function is to set out a maximum time limit in which the prosecutor or plaintiff can present a case against the accused and proceed to trial, ensuring that trials and cases commence in a timely action.
Goings 2
Unless agreed to by both the plaintiff and defendant otherwise, as outlined in a statute in section 786 of the Code, no person can be charged with a summary conviction offence after six months, with the time period beginning “on the date of accrual of the cause of action” (Williams 7). There is a certain restriction concerning the use of the statute of limitation on criminal offences in Canada – it can only be applied to summary conviction offences, and not indictable offences. In the Canadian
CRJC 222-01 Community Based Corrections
AQuenum
Goings 1
 This research examines the concept of the statute of limitations from a historical perspective. The research will set forth the origins of the concept in Western culture and its evolution from Roman to English law, and then discuss major features of its transfer and application in the American legal system, with a view toward identifying how it was viewed by various legal authorities in the US and various uses to which it has been put. The concept of the statute of limitations is deceptively simple. In the popular mind, the term refers to the amount of time during which a plaintiff may pursue a cause of civil action in court or, in criminal law, the amount of time that must elapse before a defendant is legally excused from the criminal liability associated with a crime. It is of course a truism of television courtroom drama (and the law, as it happens) that there is no statute of limitations on murder. But as will become clearer in the course of this report, the principal concern of the concept of the statute of limitations has always been connected far more to property and its ownership than to responsibility and its ownership. Their primary function is to set out a maximum time limit in which the prosecutor or plaintiff can present a case against the accused and proceed to trial, ensuring that trials and cases commence in a timely action.
Goings 2
Unless agreed to by both the plaintiff and defendant otherwise, as outlined in a statute in section 786 of the Code, no person can be charged with a summary conviction offence after six months, with the time period beginning “on the date of accrual of the cause of action” (Williams 7). There is a certain restriction concerning the use of the statute of limitation on criminal offences in Canada – it can only be applied to summary conviction offences, and not indictable offences. In the Canadian
References: Florida Legislature. (2008). Statutes and constitution: online sunshine. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0095/Sec11.HTM Free Advice Limitations, statute of. (2008). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 21, 2008, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9048306 Rinkle, Ralph The Oyez Project, Lawrence v. Florida, 549 U.S. ___ (2007),available at: (last visited Friday, March 21, 2008).