Time Limits

Should time limits be used in the justice system?  It seems as if time limits are being used to take away people’s rights to defend themselves and to seek justice.  So many people are being denied justice due to time limits, which are hard to keep track of since nearly every law seems to have a specific time-frame in which someone can file their motion to the court.  When we allow time barring, we are sending a message that any crime or injustice can continue if a motion is not filed within a certain time period.

For example, a woman raped years ago has no right for justice if she waits past a certain time period to report the crime.  What if she learns years later that her rapist has continued to rape other women and now wishes to help the other women, but is time barred from doing so?

In the case against Brian Hill, he learned after his case that 11 months of the dates mentioned in his discovery report were months that he didn’t even have his computer.  He used this evidence in his Motion 2255 to the court, however they seemed more concerned that he had not filed his motion within the proper time-frame and they denied his motion.  In other words, the court denied his motion not based on actual evidence of innocence, but based solely on his untimely filing.  If we continue to allow time barring, then we continue to allow a miscarriage of justice.

True justice should never be time barred!