* Motion *
MOTION - A request asking a judge to issue a ruling or order on a legal matter.
An application to a court by one of the parties in a cause, or his counsel, in order to obtain some rule or order of court, which he thinks becomes necessary in the progress of the cause, or to get relieved in a summary manner, from some matter which would work injustice.
When the motion is made on some matter of fact, it must be supported by an affidavit that such facts are true; and for this purpose, the party's affidavit will be received, though, it cannot be read on the hearing.
A motion is a written request to the court. When a party asks the court to take some kind of action in the course of litigation, other than resolving the entire case in a trial, the request is made in the form of a motion. Motions are often made before trials to resolve procedural and preliminary issues, and may be made after trials to enforce or modify judgments. Motions may also be made to resolve legal issues in the case if there is no disagreement about the facts. Usually called a motion for summary judgment or a motion for summary adjudication of the issues, these motions can resolve all or most of the issues in a case without the need for a trial.
Normally, one side submits a motion, the other side submits a written response, and the court holds a hearing at which the parties give brief oral arguments. (Some motions are considered only on the basis of the writings.) Then the court approves or denies the motion.
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