''Arguendo'' is a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
legal term meaning ''for the sake of argument''. "Assuming, ''arguendo'', that ..." and similar phrases are used in
courtroom settings,
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
legal settings, and occasionally in other domains, to designate provisional and unendorsed assumptions that will be made at the beginning of an argument in order to explore their implications.
The origin of the word ''Arguendo'' is based on the Latin word ''arguendum'' which means "to argue".
Usage
Assuming ''arguendo'' allows an
attorney to examine the conclusions of premises without admitting that these premises—often the asserted facts of the opposing party—could be true.
A criminal defense attorney may say, "if, ''arguendo'', my client stole the car, then saving a life would have
justified stealing it," thus suggesting that determining the client's guilt or innocence is pointless because they would cause identical legal effects.
Particularly in an
appellate court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
, a judge may ask an attorney what the effects of a different set of assumptions, made ''arguendo'', about the facts governing a situation might be. Asking these questions is especially useful in exploring whether different
fact pattern A fact pattern or fact situation is a summary of the key facts of a particular legal case, presented without any associated discussion of their legal consequences.
For example, at common law, "Murder is the killing of another human being with malic ...
s might limit the proper scope of a possible
holding in a given case.
For a real example in a civil case, see Tiffany and Company's Reply Brief,
''
Tiffany Inc. v. eBay, Inc.'', 08-3947-CV (U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit 2008, p. 23, second paragraph): "In any event, assuming ''arguendo'' that requiring eBay to take remedial measures would impair eBay's business, that fact cannot relieve eBay of its legal obligations.
Notes and references
External links
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Latin legal terminology
Latin words and phrases
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