Jessica Larson, age 15, of Marquette, Mich., for her question:

WHAT IS THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS?

A statute of limitations is a law that sets a time limit for filing lawsuits. Suits filed after the statute of limitations has passed are barred, no matter how just they may be.

Statutes of limitations prevent lawsuits in which the facts of the case are clouded because of the lapse of time.

Each state, and the federal government, has its own statute of limitations for different kinds of claims. Some states have as many as 20 statutes of limitations.

Some statutes include limits of one year for libel and slander cases, two years for personal injury lawsuits, 10 years for cases involving written contracts and 20 years for actions to recover land.

Statutes of limitations also apply to most crimes, limiting the time in which prosecutions must be brought. But serious crimes, such as murder, are not subject to statutes of limitations.