Legal Definitions - procedendo

A procedendo is a legal order issued by a higher court that instructs a lower court to resume proceedings and issue a final judgment in a case that was previously removed from its jurisdiction or temporarily halted. It essentially tells the lower court to "proceed" with the case and bring it to a conclusion.

• Example 1: After an Interlocutory Appeal

  Imagine a complex business dispute where the trial court makes a preliminary ruling on a crucial piece of evidence. One party believes this ruling is incorrect and immediately appeals it to a higher appellate court, temporarily pausing the main trial. After reviewing the appeal, the higher court determines that the trial court's preliminary ruling was correct and there is no legal reason to stop the trial. The appellate court would then issue a procedendo, directing the trial court to resume the trial, consider all evidence, and proceed to render a final judgment in the business dispute.

  This illustrates procedendo because the higher court is sending the case back to the lower court to continue with the proceedings and reach a final decision after a temporary interruption caused by the appeal.

• Example 2: Following a Denied Writ of Prohibition

  Consider a situation where a city council is being sued in a local court, and the council believes the local court lacks the authority (jurisdiction) to hear the case. They petition a higher court for a "writ of prohibition" to stop the local court from proceeding. The higher court reviews the jurisdictional arguments and concludes that the local court does, in fact, have the proper authority to hear the case. After denying the writ of prohibition, the higher court would issue a procedendo, commanding the local court to continue with the lawsuit and bring it to a judgment.

  Here, the procedendo ensures that the lower court, whose proceedings were challenged and potentially halted by the writ request, can now definitively move forward to a final judgment.

• Example 3: Resolution of a Judicial Recusal Issue

  Suppose a criminal trial is underway, but the defense attorney files a motion asking the judge to recuse (remove) themselves from the case due to an alleged conflict of interest. This motion temporarily halts the trial while a higher court reviews the recusal request. If the higher court determines that there is no valid conflict of interest and the original judge can fairly preside, it would issue a procedendo. This order would direct the trial court, with the original judge, to resume the criminal proceedings and proceed to a verdict and judgment.

  This example demonstrates a procedendo being used to restart a case that was paused due to an administrative or judicial challenge, ensuring the lower court can complete its task of reaching a final judgment.