en banc

En banc is French for "on the bench." The term refers to a special procedure where all judges of a particular court hear a case . When the court believes that the matters are especially complex or important, the en banc procedure will be used. See e.g. Calderon v. Thompson, 524 US 965 (1998) . The appellate court in the United States usually takes a panel to review a complex matter, and only rarely will the en banc procedure be applied.

[Last reviewed in October of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

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