Filing Deadlines

Criminal prosecutions and civil actions are limited by filing deadlines, called “statutes of limitation”. The filing deadlines are different for civil and criminal cases and vary depending upon the type of crime.

Criminal Statutes of Limitation

In criminal prosecutions, most crimes must be charged within six (6) years. Rape complaints must be filed within fifteen (15) years. Robbery has a ten (10) year filing period. Murder has no time limit. Under a new law, rape and assault with intent to rape a person under sixteen, and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, have no time limit either, but for cases charged more than 27 years after the event, the Commonwealth must provide independent corroboration of the crime. For all other crimes involving sexual abuse or exploitation of a child under 16, the “clock” does not begin to run until the child turns sixteen or the crime is reported to a law enforcement agency, whichever occurs first. In calculating filing deadlines, any period during which the defendant was not a resident of Massachusetts after the crime was committed, is excluded.

Civil Statutes of Limitation

In contrast to the filing deadlines for criminal prosecutions, civil actions for personal injuries must be filed within three (3) years from the date of the event. If there are a string of similar incidents, the time may be calculated from the last incident. Civil lawsuits for an event that occurs before a person’s 18th birthday can be filed at any time until the person turns 21. In child sexual abuse cases, the three-year filing period starts to run when the victim begins, or should begin, to understand that the abuse caused psychological harm. This special “floating” statute of limitation is called The Discovery Rule. Sexual harassment and other discrimination claims must first be filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination within 300 days of the last incident.

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