appellate procedure

respondent

The respondent is the party against whom a petition is filed, especially one on appeal. The respondent can be either the plaintiff or the defendant from the court below, as either party can appeal the decision thereby making themselves the...

shocks the conscience

“Shocks the conscience” refers to situations that seem grossly unjust to the observer. Courts often use this phrase as a test to determine which situations are so unjust or wrong that the court must intervene. If some event shocks the...

Stambovsky v. Ackley

Parties

Appellant/Plaintiff: Jeffrey M. Stambovsky

Respondent/Defendant: Helen V. Ackley et al.

Court and Date

Appellate Division 1st Department of the Supreme Court...

substantial evidence

Standard of review used at the appellate level to review a trial court's decision, where the court asks whether there exists substantial evidence to support the findings of the court below.

supersedeas

Supersedeas (also termed “writ of supersedeas”) is Latin for “you shall desist.” It refers to a stay of the enforcement of a judgment pending appeal. Essentially, it is a writ or bond that suspends a judgment creditor’s power to levy...

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (C.A.F.C.) has nation-wide jurisdiction over certain disputes that involve the Federal government including intellectual property, international trade, government contracts, and federal...

unanimous

Unanimous means complete agreement in a decision made by multiple individuals or parties. During a trial, a unanimous jury means that all jurors agreed in the conclusion and verdict of the court case. Similarly, unanimous decisions in an...

with prejudice

When a court dismisses an action, they can either do so “with prejudice” or “without prejudice.” Dismissal with prejudice means that the plaintiff cannot refile the same claim again in that court.

The reason that dismissal...

writ of certiorari

The word certiorari comes from Law Latin, meaning "to be more fully informed." A writ of certiorari orders a lower court to deliver its record in a case so that the higher court may review it. The writ of certiorari is a common law writ,...

writ of coram vobis

A writ of coram vobis is a directive from an appellate court to a lower court to review its decision in a case due to the presence of a fact which existed during consideration of the initial case, but was missing from the record due to some...