Error Coram Nobis
Literal meaning: “Error before us (the court itself)”
What does the Latin term "Error Coram Nobis" mean in law?
Error coram nobis (also writ of coram nobis) is an extraordinary post-conviction remedy that asks the court that rendered the original judgment to vacate it based on a fundamental error of fact that was not known to the court or the defendant at the time of trial. Unlike habeas corpus, coram nobis is available even after the petitioner has fully served their sentence. The writ is reserved for cases involving errors so fundamental that they rendered the proceeding itself invalid, such as the government's suppression of evidence of the defendant's innocence. The remedy is extremely narrow and is granted only in exceptional circumstances where no other remedy is available. Its most famous modern application was in the cases vacating the World War II Japanese American internment convictions.
Source: Criminal · Legal Latin
Legal Definition
Error coram nobis (also writ of coram nobis) is an extraordinary post-conviction remedy that asks the court that rendered the original judgment to vacate it based on a fundamental error of fact that was not known to the court or the defendant at the time of trial. Unlike habeas corpus, coram nobis is available even after the petitioner has fully served their sentence. The writ is reserved for cases involving errors so fundamental that they rendered the proceeding itself invalid, such as the government's suppression of evidence of the defendant's innocence. The remedy is extremely narrow and is granted only in exceptional circumstances where no other remedy is available. Its most famous modern application was in the cases vacating the World War II Japanese American internment convictions.
How It's Used
Coram nobis is primarily used in federal criminal cases where the petitioner has completed their sentence and can no longer seek habeas relief. It is one of the rarest post-conviction remedies, and successful petitions typically involve egregious government misconduct or newly discovered evidence of factual innocence.
Example Sentences
Fred Korematsu successfully petitioned for a writ of error coram nobis to vacate his conviction for violating the Japanese American exclusion order after evidence emerged that the government had suppressed exculpatory intelligence reports.
The court denied the coram nobis petition because the alleged error was one of law, not fact, and therefore did not fall within the scope of the writ.
Because the defendant had already completed her sentence, habeas corpus was unavailable, and she sought relief through a writ of error coram nobis.