Legal Definitions - manifest injustice

Manifest injustice refers to a clear, undeniable, and significant error in a legal proceeding that is so fundamentally unfair or wrong that it shocks the conscience and demands correction. It is not merely a minor mistake, but an obvious flaw that seriously undermines the integrity, impartiality, or fairness of the outcome, making it impossible to uphold the original decision.

• Imagine a high-stakes civil lawsuit where a jury awarded a large sum of money. After the verdict, it was discovered through irrefutable evidence that one of the jurors had been secretly communicating with the plaintiff's legal team throughout the trial, providing them with insights into jury deliberations and receiving advice in return. This juror's actions clearly violated their duty of impartiality.

  This situation illustrates manifest injustice because the integrity of the jury's decision-making process was completely compromised by the juror's improper conduct. The error is direct, obvious, and fundamentally unfair, making the verdict unreliable and requiring intervention to correct the injustice.

• Consider a criminal case where a defendant was convicted of a serious crime. Years later, newly discovered evidence reveals that the prosecution had intentionally withheld a crucial police report containing witness statements that directly contradicted the testimony of their key witness and strongly supported the defendant's alibi. This report was known to the prosecution but never disclosed to the defense.

  This is a clear example of manifest injustice because the defendant was denied a fair trial due to the deliberate suppression of exculpatory evidence. The error is undeniable and directly impacted the fairness of the conviction, as the jury never had the opportunity to consider vital information that could have led to a different verdict.