NJ Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 - 1990. In many places, there is no statute of limitations for murder. This means that if you murdered someone in 1950 and the police just located you today, you could be tried in 1999 for the crime.
Statutes of limitations are important tools in our judicial system.
The idea is that people who have claims against other people should not wait indefinitely to assert them, and should not be able to hold them over someone s head forever. When a statute of limitations applies, it means that law suits filed after the statute of limitations period has expired are barred and will not be heard. Most lawsuits are based on claims that are subject to a statute of limitations. For example, if you want to sue someone over a car accident, a slip and fall, sexual harassment, or a breach of contract, you must do so within the period allowed by law. This is usually a period of several years.