Motion (legal)

In United States law, a motion is a procedural tool used to ask a court to rule on a specific, disputed issue within a case. It is a formal request for a judge (or panel of judges) to make a decision. Motions can be filed at any stage of administrative, criminal, or civil proceedings, though court rules—which differ by jurisdiction—govern when and how they may be made. The party filing the motion is called the moving party or movant; the opposing side is the nonmoving party or nonmovant.

U.S. courts do not automatically investigate cases on their own to determine the fairest outcome—that approach, known as the inquisitorial system, is not used here. Instead, they follow the adversarial system and the principle of party presentation. Under this principle, courts rely on the parties and their lawyers to bring forward contested issues of fact or law, and then the court rules on those issues. In practice, this means that for a court to address a dispute, a party or a third party must file an appropriate motion asking for a specific order.

Some motions are made orally in open court and are quickly granted or denied by the judge, which is still common during trials. Today, however, most motions—especially those that could decide the entire case—are resolved after written arguments and sometimes oral argument. The movant typically must give advance written notice, along with a legal argument (often a memorandum of points and authorities) and supporting evidence (usually affidavits or declarations under penalty of perjury, which may include attached exhibits). In a few U.S. states, the legal argument is presented as an affidavit from the attorney speaking personally for their client. In most states, the memorandum is written impersonally or as if the client were addressing the court directly, while the attorney’s personal knowledge is reserved for a separate affidavit or declaration cited in the memorandum. Missouri uniquely calls this memorandum “suggestions.”

The nonmovant usually gets a chance to file opposing papers, and most jurisdictions allow the movant to file reply papers rebutting those arguments. Customs vary on whether oral argument is optional or mandatory after written briefing. Some courts issue tentative rulings before the hearing, after which the losing party may request oral argument; others do not. Depending on the motion and jurisdiction, the court may announce an oral decision from the bench (sometimes asking the winner to draft an order for the judge’s signature), take the matter under submission and write a detailed decision, direct the clerk to record a summary in the court minutes (a “minute order” that may only note the outcome), or fill out a standard form with check boxes. The court may serve its decision directly on all parties or only on the winner, who then serves everyone else.

In U.S. federal courts, a motion to dismiss asks the court to decide that a claim, even if assumed true, does not provide a legal remedy. For example, a claim that the defendant failed to greet the plaintiff on the street would be dismissed if no legal duty to greet exists—the court assumes the facts are true but finds no cause of action under the law. A claim filed after the statute of limitations has expired is also subject to dismissal. If granted, the claim is dismissed without any evidence from the other side. This motion has replaced the common law demurrer in most modern civil practice. When a court dismisses a case, laypeople often say the case was “thrown out.”

Under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, a party may raise by motion any defense, objection, or request that the court can decide without a full trial. Before trial, motions can challenge defects in how the prosecution was started or in the indictment or information (which can be raised at any stage but are typically brought before trial). Pleadings in federal criminal cases include the indictment, information, and pleas of not guilty, guilty, and nolo contendere. A motion under Rule 14 can address how charges or defendants are joined, leading to a motion to sever charges or defendants. Under Rule 907 of the Rules for Courts-Martial, a motion to dismiss asks to end proceedings on one or more charges or specifications on grounds that can be resolved without a trial on the general issue of guilt.