Coram nobis

Coram nobis (Latin in our presence ) is the Anglo-Saxon Common Law, an application or petition in court to admit a previously made serious errors and correct them.

Originally, this request was a " writ in equity", that is, an application before a court of equity. England had several centuries ago a two-part legal system, " law" and " equity" ( fairness ). Law courts ( " courts at law" ) dealt with custom and literal law, during which " equity" did not apply the exact law, but a general fairness principle. Later, the two systems were fused together; Today, each court should apply the equity principle in those situations where it appears appropriate according to tradition.

The judges in England and in the United States usually interpret the term " coram nobis " as " the impending error". A lawyer presents the request to " get justice ", only in cases where " no other remedy " is available. This request contact petitioners who have already served their sentence. The purpose of the request are different. The application may request that the court remove specific limitations or conditions of probation. Sometimes the applicant wants to be paid fines get back or stop further payments. In other cases, it is hoped to regain civil rights, including the right to own weapons (in the U.S. anyway), or the right to vote. The annulment of a judgment can help the petitioners, to find a new job, to get better credit, or even make his public reputation again. The ultimate goal is to rehabilitate the convicted wrongly person, insofar as it is possible. The heirs of a supplicant may also apply, even if the petitioner is even died.

The applicability of such applications is, however, strictly limited. Coram nobis is not permitted to simply check the already decided by the court matters again. The Remission coram nobis, is only applicable if you want to be examined again factual errors that were unknown at the time of the prior process, or if the prosecutor knowingly withheld relevant facts the judges and / or defendants. Only those facts that would possibly have changed the actual result of the process, must examine the court.

A well-known example in the U.S. Supreme Court case was the infamous Korematsu vs.. United States ( 1944). This decision allowed during the Second World War, the internment of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent. Not until 1983 that the Supreme Court agreed in a coram nobis a decree to repeal the earlier judgments.

• Law ( England and Wales)