diff --git a/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/LuceneTestCase.java b/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/LuceneTestCase.java
index 1dea2be..4aebfc5 100644
--- a/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/LuceneTestCase.java
+++ b/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/LuceneTestCase.java
@@ -551,6 +551,16 @@ public abstract class LuceneTestCase extends Assert {
 
   protected static boolean testsFailed; /* true if any tests failed */
 
+  /**
+   * A custom rule to timeout the test after a given period of time. 
+   */
+  @Rule
+  public final transient TimeoutRule timeout = new TimeoutRule() {
+    protected String formatObjectDetails(Object target) {
+      return reportAdditionalFailureInfo();
+    }
+  };
+
   // This is how we get control when errors occur.
   // Think of this as start/end/success/failed
   // events.
@@ -1322,10 +1332,12 @@ public abstract class LuceneTestCase extends Assert {
   }
   
   // We get here from InterceptTestCaseEvents on the 'failed' event....
-  public void reportAdditionalFailureInfo() {
-    System.err.println("NOTE: reproduce with: ant test -Dtestcase=" + getClass().getSimpleName()
-        + " -Dtestmethod=" + getName() + " -Dtests.seed=" + new ThreeLongs(staticSeed, seed, LuceneTestCaseRunner.runnerSeed)
-        + reproduceWithExtraParams());
+  public String reportAdditionalFailureInfo() {
+    String info = "NOTE: reproduce with: ant test -Dtestcase=" + getClass().getSimpleName()
+    + " -Dtestmethod=" + getName() + " -Dtests.seed=" + new ThreeLongs(staticSeed, seed, LuceneTestCaseRunner.runnerSeed)
+    + reproduceWithExtraParams();
+    System.err.println(info);
+    return info;
   }
 
   // extra params that were overridden needed to reproduce the command
diff --git a/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/Timeout.java b/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/Timeout.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b625c2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/Timeout.java
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+package org.apache.lucene.util;
+
+import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
+import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
+import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;
+import java.lang.annotation.Target;
+
+/**
+ * Changes the default timeout of a given method if {@link TimeoutRule} is used.
+ * The test case <b>must</b> use {@link TimeoutRule} for this to work.
+ */
+@Target({ElementType.METHOD})
+@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
+public @interface Timeout {
+  /**
+   * Specify an approximate timeout in milliseconds (exact timeout may vary
+   * depending on the JVM).
+   */
+  int millis() default TimeoutRule.TIMEOUT_DEFAULT;
+}
diff --git a/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/TimeoutRule.java b/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/TimeoutRule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d593703
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lucene/src/test-framework/org/apache/lucene/util/TimeoutRule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+package org.apache.lucene.util;
+
+import org.junit.rules.MethodRule;
+import org.junit.runners.model.FrameworkMethod;
+import org.junit.runners.model.Statement;
+
+/**
+ * A custom timeout rule for {@link LuceneTestCase} methods.
+ */
+class TimeoutRule implements MethodRule {
+  /** Default timeout. */
+  private static final int MINUTE = 1000 * 60;
+  public static final int TIMEOUT_DEFAULT = 60 * MINUTE;
+  
+  /**
+   * Default timeout for all test class methods, unless overriden with
+   * {@link Timeout} annotation.
+   */
+  private int defaultMillis;
+  
+  public TimeoutRule() {
+    this(TIMEOUT_DEFAULT);
+  }
+
+  public TimeoutRule(int defaultTimeoutMillis) {
+    if (defaultTimeoutMillis <= 0) throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+        "Timeout must be >= 0: " + defaultTimeoutMillis);
+    
+    this.defaultMillis = defaultTimeoutMillis;
+  }
+  
+  @Override
+  public Statement apply(final Statement base, final FrameworkMethod method,
+      final Object target) {
+    return new Statement() {
+      volatile Throwable nested;
+
+      @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
+      public void evaluate() throws Throwable {
+        /*
+         * Run the test case in a spawned thread (the cost shouldn't matter much). 
+         */
+        final int timeout = getExactTimeout(method, target);
+        final Thread t = new Thread() {
+          public void run() {
+            try {
+              base.evaluate();
+            } catch (Throwable e) {
+              nested = e;
+            }
+          }
+        };
+        
+        // we don't prevent the jvm from quitting, even if we try to clean up.
+        t.setDaemon(true);
+        t.start();
+        t.join(timeout);
+
+        if (t.isAlive()) {
+          // Still alive after timeout? Collect info, kill the thread and fail.
+          final String objectDetails = formatObjectDetails(target);
+          final String message = "Timeout of " + timeout
+              + " milliseconds exceeded. Object details:\n" + objectDetails;
+          nested = new AssertionError(message);
+          nested.setStackTrace(t.getStackTrace());
+
+          // Try to interrupt or kill t, whatever.
+          t.stop();
+          throw nested;
+        }
+
+        if (nested != null) throw nested;
+      }
+    };
+  }
+
+  /** Provide more explicit details about the target object if possible. */
+  protected String formatObjectDetails(Object target) {
+    return target.toString();
+  }
+
+  /** */
+  private int getExactTimeout(FrameworkMethod method, Object target) {
+    Timeout t = method.getMethod().getAnnotation(Timeout.class);
+    int timeout = (t != null ? t.millis() : defaultMillis);
+    if (timeout <= 0) throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+        "Timeout must be >= 0: " + timeout);
+    return timeout;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/lucene/src/test/org/apache/lucene/util/TestTimeouts.java b/lucene/src/test/org/apache/lucene/util/TestTimeouts.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c86bd11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lucene/src/test/org/apache/lucene/util/TestTimeouts.java
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/**
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ * (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ * the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.lucene.util;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.JUnitCore;
+import org.junit.runner.Result;
+
+public class TestTimeouts {
+  
+  public static class Nested extends LuceneTestCase {
+    @Timeout(millis = 500)
+    public void testJunit3SpinLoop() {
+      testJunit4SpinLoop();
+    }
+    
+    @Timeout(millis = 500)
+    public void testJunit3ThreadSleep() throws Exception {
+      testJunit4ThreadSleep();
+    }
+    
+    @Test
+    @Timeout(millis = 500)
+    public void testJunit4SpinLoop() {
+      while (true)
+        /* count electric sheep */;
+    }
+    
+    @Test
+    @Timeout(millis = 500)
+    public void testJunit4ThreadSleep() throws Exception {
+      Thread.sleep(5000);
+    }
+  }
+  
+  @Test
+  public void testTimeouts() {
+    Result result = JUnitCore.runClasses(Nested.class);
+    Assert.assertEquals(4, result.getFailures().size());
+  }
+}