In retaliation cases, passage of time matters.

• Position: Legal Briefs

Alonzo, who is black, filed several race discrimination complaints over the years. All were dismissed for not having merit. Then, six years after his last complaint, he sued for retaliation. The reason? He says he was given a new boss who had used racial slurs in the past as punishment for his six-year-old race claims. The court tossed out the retaliation case, saying too much time had...