Sua sponte

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In law, the term sua sponte (Latin "on its own will or motion.") means to act spontaneously without prompting from another party. The term is usually applied to actions by a judge taken without a prior motion or request from the parties.

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 own behalf without making a general appearance. Common reasons for an action taken sua sponte are when the judge determines that the court does not have subject-matter jurisdiction or that the case should be moved to another judge because of a conflict of interest, even if all parties disagree.

[edit] Notable cases

• 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. [1]
• 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 defeat, citing an obligation to do so. The Supreme Court ruled that this was not obligatory, but declined to rule whether it was permitted. [2]

[edit] Other uses

• The 75th Ranger Regiment (United States Army Rangers) uses Sua Sponte as their regimental motto, referring to the Rangers' ability to accomplish tasks with little to no prompting.
• The Fenn School in Concord, Massachusetts uses Sua Sponte as its school motto usually seen written in a furled banner beneath an engraving of the famous Daniel Chester French Concord Minuteman statue.

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