For the defence, a particular hurdle is that, due to the passage of time, it is often impossible to recall specifics of what one might have been doing on a given day, and thus to meet the allegations head on. In some jurisdictions, there are statutes of limitations which prevent criminal proceedings being brought after a certain period of time, for this very reason. But in England and Wales, there is no such bar. It is increasingly common to see defendants prosecuted for alleged offences said to have occurred forty or even fifty years ago, even though it presents an immediate difficulty when
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