Civil Rights Complaint Timeline

Answer:

Civil rights claims arise predominantly in two areas, but there are other areas. Generally, a lot of civil rights claims are protected by the federal constitution and they’re federal civil rights based on the United States code. Regardless of whether you’re in Arizona or in Eastern Kentucky, some of these time frames to file things are the same because they arise out of federal law. Each state has its own constitution. Particularly here in Arizona, we have our own constitution that gives rights to folks, as well. There could be a number of deadlines and when to file and where to file that is associated with civil rights claims. Again, this is not something you should guess on your own. You’re going to need a lawyer. You’re going to need a competent lawyer that knows where the claims are, how they need to be stated, what to file. We’ve had to jump in the middle of several civil rights cases that were great cases, should have been pursued to the max, but 40, 50, 60 days into the case, after the person tried to do it on their own, trying to avoid paying a lawyer, they lost time, they lost evidence, they lost procedural things, some claims got knocked out, and the strength of the case is diminished. Sometimes, they say too much in the complaint, they show their hands, they argue the case, and they try to prove the whole case in filing the complaint. You’ve got to be careful about that and understand that there are time frames to all of these issues. For example, with a civil rights claim related to employment – say, you feel like you’ve been sexually harassed at work – you’ve got 300 days to file that with the EEOC. If you don’t file within that 300 days – and in some instances 180 days – with the EEOC, you’re statutorily barred; you’re time-barred. It’s no longer effective. You can’t flirt with that. No judge is going to overturn that, so you have to be careful. As soon as you think something strange has happened that has violated your civil rights, call a lawyer immediately. We get calls from all across the country regarding civil rights cases, be it employment or other things. Call us. We’d be more than happy to talk with you about it and look at the time frames and what needs to be filed and with who it needs to be filed. It’s something that you cannot spin your wheels on because the clock is ticking.