Legal deadlines: the dates that close doors if you miss them

Court dates tell you where to be. Deadlines tell you what has to be filed, requested or paid by a certain day, and many of them don't come with a reminder. They come from statutes, court rules and orders, and the clock often starts before people realize a case has begun.

A few examples show the range. After certain DUI arrests in South Carolina, a driver has 30 days to request an administrative hearing on a license suspension. A civil defendant usually has a set number of days to answer a complaint after being served. A federal appeal to the Fourth Circuit generally has its own tight window after judgment. Each one is counted differently, and weekends and holidays can change the math.

Guides here explain where a deadline comes from, how it's usually counted, and which official source confirms it. We'll say plainly when a deadline depends on facts only your attorney knows. And we'll never tell you a deadline doesn't apply to you.