Legal Definitions - stand adjourned

When a meeting or official proceeding is said to "stand adjourned," it means that the session has been formally paused and will resume at a later, specified time. This declaration is typically made by the person in charge, such as a judge, chairperson, or presiding officer, to indicate that the current business is temporarily suspended but not concluded.

• Example 1: Legislative Session

  During a particularly lengthy debate on a new tax bill, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, seeing that it was past midnight and many representatives still wished to speak, announced, "Given the extensive discussion and the need for members to review additional amendments, this legislative session will stand adjourned until 9:00 AM tomorrow morning."

  This illustrates that the legislative proceedings were formally paused for the night, with the clear intention of resuming the debate on the same bill at the specified time the next day.

• Example 2: Corporate Board Meeting

  The Board of Directors of a technology company was holding a critical meeting to approve a major acquisition. After several hours of intense discussion and the discovery of new financial data that required further analysis, the Chairperson stated, "To allow our finance committee to thoroughly review the updated projections, this board meeting will stand adjourned until we can reconvene next Monday."

  Here, the board meeting was temporarily suspended to allow for necessary due diligence, indicating that the meeting's business was not finished but merely put on hold until a later date.

• Example 3: Administrative Hearing

  A local zoning board was conducting a public hearing regarding a controversial proposal to build a new commercial complex. Due to the large number of residents who wished to present their arguments and the limited time available, the presiding officer declared, "With many more citizens still waiting to provide testimony, this public hearing will stand adjourned and will resume at the community center on the 25th of this month."

  This shows that the hearing was formally paused to accommodate all participants, ensuring that the process would continue and all voices could be heard at the designated future date.