law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, time constraints are placed on certain

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

s and filings in the interest of speedy justice, and additionally to prevent the evasion of the ends of justice by waiting until a matter is moot. The penalty for violating a legislative or court-imposed time constraint may be anything from a small fine to judicial determination of an entire case against one's interests. For example, if a complaining party files an action and then fails to cause the papers pertaining thereto to be served on the opposing party within the time established by local rules, and is unable to convince the court that there was good and sufficient reason for the delay, he risks having his action dismissed with prejudice. If the opposing party is served with the papers and fails to respond within the time limit provided for his answer, he risks having the case decided against him by default. If one is aggrieved by the judicial outcome of an action and wishes to

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...

, he may be forever barred from doing so if he fails to meet the deadline by which his appeal may be filed. By court order, or by local rule, there may be other time constraints. One may be required to answer

interrogatories In law, interrogatories (also known as requests for further information) are a formal set of written questions propounded by one litigant and required to be answered by an adversary in order to clarify matters of fact and help to determine in ad ...

or a request to produce or other

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

pleading In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of one party's claims or defenses in response to another party's complaint(s) in a civil action. The parties' pleadings in a case define t ...

s within a given time. He may be required to give a certain number of days' advance notice before he intends to depose a

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

witness In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

. A court may order that there will be only a certain number of weeks or months allowed during which the parties to an action may conduct discovery. There may be a limitation placed upon a deposition, requiring that the party taking it conclude his questioning within a certain number of hours or days.

References

Civil procedure {{law-term-stub

See also

References