coram nobis

[ kawr-am noh-bis, kohr-am ]

noun

, Law.

1. a writ to correct an injury caused by a mistake of the court.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coram nobis¹

< Latin: before us

Example Sentences

Instead, they sought what’s called a “writ of coram nobis.”

From Washington Post

They succeeded using a legal procedure called the writ of coram nobis, the equivalent of the judiciary admitting a serious mistake.

From Seattle Times

The coram nobis cases never reached the Supreme Court because the plaintiffs won at lower levels.

From Seattle Times

Shealy, the law professor, said the case turned on the application of coram nobis, a rarely used legal concept that dates from English common law.

From Los Angeles Times

The order was a rare application of coram nobis, a legal remedy that can be used only when a conviction was based on an error of fact or unfairly obtained in a fundamental way and when all other remedies have been exhausted.

From New York Times