Government Glossary

Motion

Short Definition

A motion is a formal request asking a court or legislative body to take a particular action.

Long Explanation

Why it matters: the phrase gives visitors a clue about which institution, power, deadline, document, or public process they are dealing with. Understanding Motion helps a reader move from a headline or form label to the branch, office, rule, or record that actually controls the issue.

How to use it: when this term appears, identify who has authority, what action is being taken, and where the public record can be checked. Good starting points usually include court rules, opinions, dockets, legal forms, or judiciary guidance.

In practice, Motion is useful because it helps a visitor connect a word or phrase to court procedure, legal rights, opinions, appeals, or judicial review. When you see the term in an official source, ask which office has authority, what decision is being made, which deadline or rule matters, and where the public record can be checked.

Examples

Simple exampleA visitor sees “Motion” while reading about a bill and uses Congress.gov or a committee page to find the official record.

Civic exampleA citizen trying to follow lawmaking checks the bill text, committee action, vote record, and chamber rules before relying on a summary.

Common Misconception

A common mistake is treating Motion as a complete explanation of what Congress did. The term is usually a starting point. To know what happened, check the bill text, committee action, chamber record, and vote information where available.

Related Terms

CongressCourtsJudicialLegislative BranchLegislative ProcessLitigation Parties And Documents

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