Centesimus Duodequadragesimus: May 3, 2009: Certioro
Theme for this month: A hodgepodge portrait of TJ
When contemplating the theme for this month, I was having some difficulty, for there are multiple potential ones! Legal Latin, suitable for the AP Gov test tomorrow, Vocab from AP Latin, and others vied for a place in the LVD. Thus, I decided not to choose between them, but to meld them together into an exhibition of TJ during the AP weeks, SOL week, and beyond.
certioro, certiorare, certioravi, certioratus
Definition: inform, appraise
Sententia: In hoc tempore, altius iudicium deterius iudicium cum "writ of certiorari" certiorat cum audire causam vellet.
In this time [i.e. in the US], the higher court informs the lower court when it wants to hear the case.
This word occurs some in Latin in judicial situations, most frequently by Ulpian. The US legal term is "writ of certiorari," meaning in the US legal system the order sent from a higher court (usually the Supreme Court) to a lower court requesting the information of a certain case. By this writ, the Supreme Court accepts the cases it is going to hear. The term is usually shortened to "writ of cert" so that it is simpler to say for lawyers. Etymologically, "certioro" comes from "certior," the comparative form of "certus," meaning "sure, certain," made into a verb with the suffix "-o."
NB: Bold and underline == macron