Each week we select a legal term or phrase that’s commonly misunderstood, interesting, or in Latin. This week’s word is the latter. 

Written by: Kimberly Brandt

Ex parte is a Latin phrase which, translated literally, means “from the part.” In the legal world, motions or proceedings are held ex parte when only one of the parties is present and the other party may not have been notified.

This does not, however, mean that a party to a suit can have free reign to meet with the judge without the other side’s knowledge. Most courts require that the party not present be notified of the ex parte motion or proceeding and the party that is present must prove to the court that they have done so. The Fifth Amendment states that people should not “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” To protect this right, the court will want to give the other side a subsequent chance to be heard and challenge the motion.

Generally, court orders that stem from ex parte hearings are temporary or for emergency situations. For example, in a domestic violence situation a victim could seek, ex parte, a temporary restraining order against the alleged abuser. In other cases, such as for a search warrant, it would be highly illogical to notify the person who will be searched that a search of their property will be requested. An application for a search warrant can be made ex parte so that the warrant can be issued without fear evidence will be destroyed or tampered with, leaving the affected person with a later opportunity to be heard.

The need to protect confidential information could also give rise to the necessity of an ex parte proceeding. The government could meet with a judge ex parte to prove that information they have regarding an alleged terrorist needs to be kept confidential. A less dangerous scenario can be found in the case of Britney Spears, where her (now former) lawyers filed an ex parte motion to withdraw as counsel before the hearing date. After a court order from an ex parte hearing is issued and the emergency situation has passed, a hearing is usually held with all parties present in order to review the legitimacy of the prior actions.

(One final note: once in a while you will see the phrase “ex parte” in a case name. In that instance, ex parte would mean the case was brought at the request of the named person alone. For example, Ex parte Milligan would mean Milligan brought the case on his own.)