Legal Dictionary
En Banc
Definition
A session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (rather than by a panel selected from them).
Deep Dive
En Banc, a French term meaning "on the bench" or "in bench," refers to a session of a court where the entire panel of judges for that court hears a case, rather than a smaller panel selected from them. This procedure is most common in appellate courts, such as federal circuit courts of appeals or state supreme courts, which typically hear cases in panels of three or five judges.
Examples & Use Cases
- 1A federal circuit court of appeals voting to rehear a particularly controversial immigration case en banc to resolve a split decision among its prior three-judge panels.
- 2A state supreme court hearing a landmark constitutional challenge to a new environmental law with all its justices presiding.
- 3An appellate court ordering an en banc review of a case to ensure uniformity in the interpretation of a new statute affecting business regulations across the state.
Related Terms
Appellate ReviewStare DecisisJudicial Panel