Talk:Motion (legal)

I've tagged this article as needing an expert, because it's not obvious if it only deals with U.S. law. Silverhelm 07:06, 5 September 2005 (UTC).

Word errors and pretrial
I fixed some typos :) Also, I think pretrial information should be added, if no one does this i'll research and try to add my own info.

Pointless
I'm the person who recently rewrote the article on Summary Judgment. I've been litigating in New York for more than twenty-five years and teaching at law school for nearly as long. Although I was tempted to rewrite this article, I've decided it makes no sense to do so. What this title really requires is little more than a working definition of a motion (as a party's request for the issuance of an order), to be followed by a mere list of common motions consisting of nothing but links to a fuller article on each common type of motion.

As there is no practical limit to the different types of order requested of, or granted by, courts, it would be a "fool's errand" to attempt an exhaustive list of every conceivable type of motion. (By use of that term, I do not mean to cast aspersions upon the person or persons who have already attempted to define certain common types of motion in this article, although his/their definitions are in many important respects inadvertently confusing and incomplete.)

Motions can be made at any phase of the proceeding, to govern any aspect of the proceeding, and may seek procedural and/or substantive relief. Different rules govern different types of motions. A party making one type of motion may be subject to specific requirements governing such motion's timing and content; a party making a different type of motion may be governed by altogether different rules. Likewise, a court's decision on one type of motion will be governed by certain prescribed standards which would be completely inapplicable to a motion of another type.

To so much as understand a list of even the most common types of motions in civil practice requires something very nearly approaching a good law-school education. Since that is beyond the practical scope of this publication, I make the proposal stated above.

As I do not wish to wipe out work that's already been done here, I propose that each different type of motion be moved to a separate article (as has already been done for summary judgment). If a target article already exists (again, as in the case of summary judgment), leave it alone; where this no such article, move the definition now contained in this article to its new home.

As I am personally incapable of doing the initial formatting and hyperlinking, I will leave that to someone else. If my proposal is undertaken, however, I intend to contribute to the correction and explication of this article, and each separate article.

Directed from pretrial motion
I was looking for pretrial motion, but it redirected here, which has nothing on the subject.

Motions, detail
I really think we need a paralegal or lawyer to add depth to the various motions and add better examples. Gautam Discuss 17:13, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Steps to a MtD ??
This info should be available but it is not to be found. Exactly what happens with a MtD?

Party 1: Files MtD

Party 2: Files Opposition to MtD

Party 1: Files Reply to Opposition to MtD

Party 2: Files Response to Reply to Opposition to MtD

Party 1: Files Yet Another Reply to Response to Reply to Opposition to MtD

Party 2: Files Yet Another Response to Reply to Response to Reply to Opposition to MtD

Party 1: Files Again with the reply to Yet Another Reply to Response to Reply to Opposition to MtD

Party 2: Files Again with the reply to Again with the reply to Yet Another Response to Reply to Response to Reply to Opposition to MtD

So how long does this silly game go? Just how many steps are there before the judge says, "Enough! Stop filing responses to replies."

I've looked online 3 times for two hours each and that info seems impossible to find. Someone please post the limitations on responses to replies to MtDs. Thanks!


 * Sorry, no sane lawyer will give you that information for free, unless they work for your local legal aid agency. It takes four months of studying civil procedure in law school, two months of studying for the bar exam, and three years of actively practicing law to understand how motion practice works in the context of the entire justice system.  Good luck.--Coolcaesar (talk) 03:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

missing info
What is the terminology for a judge accepting a motion and for a judge rejecting a motion? 108.56.212.179 (talk) 12:31, 14 August 2013 (UTC)

Why was this article moved?
Moving this article was exactly the wrong approach under Wikipedia policy. The more appropriate approach would have been to tag this article as requiring expansion to deal with motions in other jurisdictions that use them (e.g., Australia or Canada). Most other jurisdictions don't use motions or don't use them as much as U.S. courts do. --Coolcaesar (talk) 15:26, 14 August 2013 (UTC)
 * So just tag and expand it. Apokrif (talk) 13:58, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
 * But that doesn't respond to the concern I raised---it shouldn't have been moved in the first place! --Coolcaesar (talk) 05:37, 20 August 2015 (UTC)
 * I also need to note that Apokrif's point makes zero sense in light of the ongoing editor retention crisis (which is getting more and more attention from the tech press). At this point, all edits need to be able to stand alone on their own as defensible---no one is likely to fix them down the road since Wikipedia has consistently been unable to increase the number of active editors. The encyclopedia is full of half-complete messes like this, which are weakening its reliability and integrity (and make me wonder about Apokrif's integrity as well).  As it is clear that no one has the interest in fixing this mess, I will be proposing in a few months that this article be moved back to Motion (law). --Coolcaesar (talk) 04:13, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Globalise Template error?
Well, the title says 'Motion in United States law' and then there's a notice saying that the article deals primarily with the US? It may be quite amusing *muffled laugh*, but in my opinion, someone should clarify this. Thanks =3

SebastianAmor (talk) 00:06, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
 * There is no (longer) any such notice and a US-specific category has been added, so everything is right. Apokrif (talk) 13:59, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Moved it back
This article should never have been moved to begin with. The correct title for a motion in many other countries is "application." That topic can be dealt with in a separate article under that title. --Coolcaesar (talk) 01:05, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

This article is a train wreck
A motion is an application for a court order. The case law is very clear on this. Any objections before I clean this up? --Coolcaesar (talk) 06:32, 8 January 2018 (UTC)

Motion
A motion to get someone classified with doc quicker Country Zack (talk) 19:10, 19 April 2018 (UTC)