Sua sponte
In law, sua sponte (Latin: "of his, her, its, or their own accord") or suo motu/suo moto ("on its own motion")[1] describes an act of authority taken without formal prompting by another party.[2] The term is usually applied to actions taken by a judge without a prior motion or request from the parties. The form nostra sponte ("of our own accord") is sometimes used when the action is taken by a multi-member court, such as an appellate court, rather than by a single judge. (Third parties describing such actions would still refer to them as being taken by the court as a whole and therefore as sua sponte.) While usually applied to actions of a court, the term may reasonably be applied to actions by government agencies and individuals acting in their official capacities.[3]
One situation in which a party might encourage a judge to move sua sponte occurs when that party is preserving a special appearance (usually to challenge jurisdiction) and therefore cannot make motions on its behalf without making a general appearance. Judges commonly act sua sponte when they determine that the court does not have subject-matter jurisdiction[4] or that the case should be moved to another judge because of a conflict of interest,[5] even if all parties disagree.
Notable cases
[edit]- In Carlisle v. United States, 517 U.S. 416 (1996), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a district court could not move sua sponte to grant a judgment of acquittal (notwithstanding the verdict) to remedy the late filing of the equivalent motion.[6]
- In Trest v. Cain, 522 U.S. 87 (1997), 94 F.3d 1005, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit moved sua sponte to reject a habeas corpus claim because of procedural default, citing an obligation to do so. The Supreme Court ruled that this was not obligatory but declined to rule whether it was permitted.[7]
- Since 2009, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has frequently taken up suo motu cases against government authorities involving violence, corruption, imposition of price ceilings on various commodities, and so on.[8][9][10][11][12] The extent to which the court should exercise this authority is a matter of political debate.[13]
Other uses
[edit]- The United States Army Rangers' 75th Ranger Regiment's motto is Sua Sponte, referring to the Rangers' ability to accomplish tasks with little to no prompting and to recognize that a Ranger volunteers three times: for the U.S. Army, Airborne School, and service in the 75th Ranger Regiment.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Castaldo, Jennifer S. (2015-03-13). "Civil Litigation: Obtaining appellate review of a sua sponte order". NY Daily Record. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
- ^ Milani, Adam A.; Smith, Michael R. (2001). "Playing God: A Critical Look at Sua Sponte Decisions by Appellate Courts". Tennessee Law Review. 69: 245.
- ^ Couch, Dick (2013-07-02). Sua Sponte: The Forging of a Modern American Ranger. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-425-25360-1.
- ^ Shannon, Bradley (March 2018). "Reconciling Subject-Matter Jurisdiction". Hofstra Law Review. 46 (3).
- ^ Abramson, Leslie W. (2007). "Judicial Disclosure and Disqualification: The Need for More Guidance". Justice System Journal. 28 (3): 301–308. doi:10.1080/0098261X.2007.10767849. JSTOR 27977352. S2CID 141823072.
- ^ Carlisle v. United States, 517 U.S. 416 (Supreme Court of the United States 1996).
- ^ Trest v. Cain, 522 U.S. 87 (Supreme Court of the United States 1997).
- ^ Karachi violence suo motu: Supreme Court to resume proceedings from today – The Express Tribune
- ^ SC reserves verdict in POL GST suo motu case | Pakistan Today | Latest news | Breaking news | Pakistan News | World news | Business | Sport and Multimedia
- ^ Pakistan court takes suo motu notice of Hazara killings – The Hindu
- ^ Daily Times – Leading News Resource of Pakistan
- ^ Pak`s CJ takes suo motu notice of illegal CNG licences
- ^ The power of suo motu – The Express Tribune
- ^ "US Army Rangers". US Army Ranger Association. Retrieved 29 March 2015.