Numbers & Deadlines You Must Memorize

NUMBERS & DEADLINES YOU MUST MEMORIZE

The exact numbers, day-counts, and dollar thresholds the bar loves to test — in one place. Jurisdiction-dependent items are flagged.

Civil Procedure

Number	What it governs
30 days	Deadline to remove a case from state to federal court after the defendant receives the first removable pleading.
1 year	Outer limit to remove a diversity case (no-removal cap) after the action commenced, absent bad-faith concealment.
21 days	Rule 11 safe harbor: time the offending party has to withdraw or fix a paper after a sanctions motion is served before it is filed.
21 days	Amend a pleading once as of right after serving it, or within 21 days after a responsive pleading or Rule 12 motion.
21 days	Time to serve a written response to a Rule 12 motion is governed locally, but 21 days is the standard answer deadline after service of the summons and complaint.
14 days	Common short window: e.g., objections to a magistrate's report, and the period to file a motion for attorney's fees after judgment.
90 days	Rule 4(m) deadline to serve the summons and complaint after filing, or the court must dismiss without prejudice or extend for good cause.
28 days	Post-trial deadline (after entry of judgment) for renewed JMOL, motion for new trial, and motion to alter or amend the judgment.
30 days	Time to file a notice of appeal in a civil case (60 days when the United States is a party).
$75,000	Amount in controversy that must be exceeded for diversity jurisdiction (more than $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs).
30 days	Time to respond to interrogatories, requests for production, and requests for admission after service.
10 (and 7)	Presumptive limits: no more than 10 depositions per side and no more than 25 interrogatories per party without leave or stipulation.
25	Presumptive cap on the number of interrogatories one party may serve on another without leave of court.

Contracts & UCC Sales (Article 2)

Number	What it governs
$500	Statute of Frauds threshold: a contract for the sale of goods for $500 or more must be in a signed writing.
3 months	Maximum duration of a UCC firm offer held open without consideration when no time is stated or a longer time is stated by the merchant.
10 days	Merchant's window to object to a written confirmation, after which the confirmation satisfies the Statute of Frauds against the non-signing merchant.
1 year	Common-law Statute of Frauds: a contract that cannot possibly be performed within one year must be in writing.
Reasonable time	Default UCC period for acceptance, delivery, cure, and rejection when no time is specified; flexible and fact-dependent.
4 years	UCC Article 2 statute of limitations for breach of a sales contract, which the parties may shorten to not less than one year.
Seasonably	A merchant accepting with additional terms, or sending a confirmation, must act seasonably; standard for shipment-of-non-conforming-goods accommodations.

Real Property

Number	What it governs
21 years	Rule Against Perpetuities tail: an interest must vest, if at all, within a life in being plus 21 years.
Varies by state (commonly 5 to 20 years)	Adverse possession statutory period; often shorter with color of title or payment of taxes. Jurisdiction-dependent.
Race / Notice / Race-Notice	Three recording-act types determine priority among grantees; outcome depends on which type the jurisdiction adopted. Jurisdiction-dependent.
Reasonable time	Implied period to deliver marketable title and to close under a land-sale contract when no closing date is essential.
Varies (often 1 year or 6 months)	Statutory redemption period after a mortgage foreclosure sale where the jurisdiction allows redemption. Jurisdiction-dependent.

Wills, Trusts & Estates

Number	What it governs
120 hours (5 days)	Uniform Simultaneous Death Act / UPC rule: a person must survive the decedent by 120 hours to take, or is treated as predeceasing.
21 years	Rule Against Perpetuities applied to contingent future interests created by wills and trusts: a life in being plus 21 years.
1/3 or 1/2	Common elective/forced share fractions a surviving spouse may claim against the estate; the UPC uses a sliding scale tied to length of marriage. Jurisdiction-dependent.
2 witnesses	Standard Wills Act formality: an attested will must be signed in the presence of two witnesses (some states now allow harmless-error or holographic wills).
Sliding scale to 50% (UPC)	UPC augmented-estate elective share that rises with years of marriage, reaching 50% at 15 years. Jurisdiction-dependent.
Reasonable / specified statutory period	Creditor claim period against an estate after notice of probate; the exact window is set by each state's probate code. Jurisdiction-dependent.

Criminal Procedure & Constitutional

Number	What it governs
At custodial interrogation	Miranda warnings are required once a suspect is both in custody and subject to interrogation; not triggered by either alone.
48 hours	Presumptive outer limit (Gerstein/McLaughlin) for a probable-cause hearing after a warrantless arrest.
70 days	Federal Speedy Trial Act window to bring a defendant to trial after indictment or initial appearance, subject to excludable delays.
At formal charge	Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings (indictment, arraignment, or formal charge).
Beyond a reasonable doubt	Constitutionally required burden of proof for every element of a criminal offense (In re Winship).

Evidence

Number	What it governs
10 years	Rule 609(b): convictions older than 10 years (from conviction or release) are admissible to impeach only if probative value substantially outweighs prejudice.
15 minutes / contemporaneous	Present sense impression (803(1)) must describe an event while or immediately after perceiving it; excited utterance (803(2)) while under the stress of the event.
Substantially outweighed	Rule 403 balancing standard: relevant evidence is excluded only if probative value is substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice, confusion, or delay.
Reasonable certainty	Degree of confidence an expert opinion must satisfy; expert reliability is screened under Rule 702 and Daubert.
609(a)(2) automatic	Crimes of dishonesty or false statement are admissible to impeach automatically, with no 403 balancing, regardless of punishment.

Business Associations

Number	What it governs
90 days	Typical corporate-derivative-suit rule: a shareholder must wait 90 days after demand on the board unless demand is excused as futile or the corporation rejects sooner.
Contemporaneous ownership	A derivative-suit plaintiff must have owned stock at the time of the wrong (and through the litigation).
Majority of a quorum	Default voting rule: board and shareholder action passes by a majority of votes present once a quorum (usually a majority of shares/directors) is met.
10 days	Common notice floor: written notice of a shareholders' meeting must generally be sent not fewer than 10 nor more than 60 days before the meeting. Jurisdiction-dependent.
2/3 (or majority) of outstanding shares	Threshold to approve fundamental changes (merger, dissolution, sale of substantially all assets) under the applicable corporate code. Jurisdiction-dependent.

Secured Transactions (UCC Article 9)

Number	What it governs
20 days	PMSI grace period: a purchase-money security interest in goods retains priority if perfected within 20 days after the debtor receives possession.
5 years	Duration of a filed financing statement before it lapses; a continuation statement extends it for another five years.
6 months	Window to file a continuation statement before a financing statement lapses (within the last six months of the five-year period).
4 months	Grace period to re-perfect after the debtor moves to a new jurisdiction; perfection continues for four months after the change of governing-law location.
1 year	Re-perfection window when collateral is transferred to a debtor in another jurisdiction (perfection continues for one year after the transfer).
First to file or perfect	General priority rule among competing secured creditors in the same collateral, subject to the PMSI super-priority exceptions.
10 days	PMSI-in-inventory and certain proceeds rules require advance notice to conflicting secured parties and perfection before the debtor receives the inventory; consignment and proceeds timing also turn on short windows.

Conflict of Laws & Family Law

Number	What it governs
6 months	UCCJEA home-state period: the state where the child lived with a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before the custody proceeding.
Domicile	Jurisdictional basis for a valid ex parte (divisible) divorce; at least one spouse must be domiciled in the forum state.
One controlling order	UIFSA principle: only a single support order is enforceable at a time, with continuing exclusive jurisdiction in the issuing state while a party or the child remains.