Legal Definitions - direct attack

A direct attack refers to a legal action taken to challenge or change a court's judgment or order within the very same legal case in which that judgment or order was issued. The primary goal of a direct attack is to have the court's decision reversed, modified, or completely set aside, either by the original trial court or by a higher appellate court.

Here are some examples illustrating a direct attack:

• Example 1: Requesting Reconsideration from the Trial Judge

  Imagine a homeowner who loses a property dispute in court. After the judge issues a final ruling, the homeowner's attorney discovers a critical piece of evidence that was not presented during the trial due to an oversight. The attorney then files a motion with the same trial judge, asking the court to reconsider its decision or grant a new trial based on this newly found evidence.

  Explanation: This is a direct attack because the homeowner is challenging the judgment by asking the original court to re-examine its decision within the existing lawsuit, aiming to have the judgment modified or reversed.

• Example 2: Appealing a Criminal Conviction

  A defendant is found guilty of a felony in a trial court. Their defense lawyer believes that the trial judge made a significant legal error during the proceedings, perhaps by improperly instructing the jury on a point of law or by allowing evidence that should have been excluded. The lawyer then files an appeal with a higher court (an appellate court), asking it to review the trial court's actions and overturn the conviction due to these alleged legal mistakes.

  Explanation: This constitutes a direct attack because the appeal is made within the same criminal proceeding, seeking to overturn or modify the trial court's judgment by presenting arguments to a superior court that has the authority to review and correct errors from the lower court.

• Example 3: Correcting a Clerical Error in a Judgment

  In a civil lawsuit, a court issues a judgment ordering one party to pay another a specific sum. However, when the written judgment is prepared, a typist accidentally enters "$5,000" instead of the judge's actual ruling of "$50,000." The affected party files a motion with the original trial court, requesting that the judge correct this obvious clerical mistake in the official judgment document.

  Explanation: This is a direct attack because it involves asking the court that issued the judgment to modify it within the same case, specifically to correct an error that does not challenge the underlying legal decision but rather its accurate recording.